The Center Of The Labyrinth
by Anath Tsurugi
Summary: Kurogane is kidnapped by the King of the Goblins and Fai must brave the horrors of the labyrinth in order to save him. But is it really the labyrinth that Fai is battling...or his own dark nightmares? A Labyrinth story. KuroFai. Yaoi. Tech of SxS.
1. I Wish

**(A/N)** I'm actually sort of surprised at how I came up with this idea. I was watching Labyrinth one night and I just happened to be flipping through volume thirteen of the manga and the two just merged, right there, on the spot. I thought to myself, "My gods, it's the perfect effing crossover! It practically writes itself." You know, I confess myself amazed that no one else has tried this idea. Seriously, I looked through the section and there was nothing as far as I could tell. Most fandoms I've tried my hand at have a million Labyrinth crossovers. So yes, obviously this plot bunny is based on the movie Labyrinth and there will be a lot of familiar elements, but neither will it be the movie word for frickin word. That would get a little old after a bit. I also admit that this is my first attempt both at a Tsubasa fic and a shounen-ai story, so let's just take this new model for a test-drive and hope we don't crash.

**Warnings:** Yes, shounen-ai, slash, gay, bl, mm, blatant homosexuality, whatever term you care to use, that is in this story. In fact, it's central to the story and I'm on board with the standard "don't like, don't read" scenario. There may even be yaoi or lemon or whatever word you wanna use. I haven't quite decided on that yet. And if someone should feel the need to trash me for it, I feel that it is my moral obligation to tell said someone that I have been bitched out by far better flamers than you and, to quote the Operative, "You _can't_ make me angry". And now that I've succeeded in making myself sound like a high and mighty prick, let's continue on to more fun things. This story takes place during the Nihon Arc so there are spoilers up through chapitre 175 or so in the manga. Can't think of anything else in particular, so…consider yourself warned.

**Disclaimer:** Alrighty, my pretties, I'm only going to do this once, so pay attention. Why do we even feel the need to use disclaimers? The name of the site is _fanfiction_. As such, of course I don't own Tsubasa or Labyrinth. Why does this bear repeating? Oh come on, don't tell me the rest of you authors out there have never thought about that! (**Looks back at the extremely long intro**) Ooooooookay, maybe it's time to stop ranting and start writing. Happy trails. I wish everyone cute, fuzzy Kuro-rin and Fai plushies.

**The Center of the Labyrinth**

_Chapter 1: I Wish…_

**No one can blame you**

**For walking away**

"_At least…while you're asleep…have good dreams," Fai whispered before turning away from Ashura for the last time._

**But too much rejection**

**No love injection**

_Kurogane tilted Fai's head back with the sheath of his sword, forcing him to look him in the eye. "The ones I hate most in the world are the guys who still have lives to live, but don't make any effort to live them."_

**Life can't be easy**

**It's not always swell**

_Pain beyond pain. He had thought it was bad when the clone had ripped his eye out of his head, but at least then he'd managed to keep himself from screaming. Now, he could not control it. Screams of intense pain were torn from his throat as his body collapsed in on itself and was rebuilt atom by painful atom. What had that fool ninja done to him?_

**Don't tell me truth hurts, little boy**

'**cause it hurts like hell**

"_It was my fault…all this time…that you weren't allowed to sleep," Fai whispered to the shade of his twin as he finally allowed him to slip away. "I'm sorry."  
_

**But down in the underground**

**You'll find someone true**

_Fai's eye widened in shock as Kurogane's blood splashed onto his face and the severed arm fell to the floor before him. Why would he…he was not worth the sacrifice…and he still…why?_

**Down in the underground**

**A land serene, a crystal moon**

_Tears flowed unchecked from Fai's remaining eye. He couldn't stop the bleeding! Kurogane was unconscious and still bleeding! The damn ninja couldn't leave well enough alone and let him die…and now he would pay the ultimate price for it. _

_**Damn it, Kurogane! I won't lose you, too.**__ He would follow right after him if it came to that. But the next thing he knew, hands were reaching…trying to take Kurogane away from him. At first, the wizard fought, but then he felt a cool hand on his cheek…and a warm voice…_

"_Don't worry. Kurogane will not die."_

**It's only forever**

**It's not long at all**

"_You too, drink," Kurogane commanded softly, offering Fai the arm he had just sliced open. Fai hesitated for a moment, two different instincts battling inside him as they did every time Kurogane made him do this. His heart cried out that it was disgusting and that he should die rather than continue doing it, but the vampire in him screamed for the thick red liquid seeping out of the ninja's open veins. _

"_If you won't drink, then do as you want," Kurogane sighed irritably. "It'll just keep flowing like this."_

"_You really are a lost case…Kurogane," Fai said sadly, finally accepting his offer and placing his lips against Kurogane's skin, his heart dying a little more even as the vampire was sated by the metallic tang._

**Lost and lonely **

**That's underground, underground **

XxX

Fai awoke with a start. It took him a few minutes to remember that he was in Nihon. When he glanced outside, he saw that the sky was dark. He must have been asleep for several hours, because the last thing he remembered was wandering into the library of Shirasagi castle in the afternoon. Now he found himself sitting in a chair with an open scroll in his lap. He vaguely recalled picking the scroll up, even though he knew that he wouldn't be able to read it.

"What a strange dream," the mage said to himself as he poured over the unfamiliar language. No matter how hard he tried to remember, he could not manage to link all of the fading images together into something that made sense. The only thing he was certain of was that he had heard Ashura-ou's voice.

"But he's dead," Fai said softly, not quite sure how he felt about that yet. Everything had happened so fast since leaving Infinity and he hadn't really had a moment to take it all in. Neither did he really want a moment. Kurogane…Ashura-ou…Sakura…Fai… everything.

"An excellent choice," a voice suddenly sounded in his ear. Fai started and turned, half falling out of the chair, to see Tomoyo-hime standing right beside him. Fai sighed; he hadn't even sensed her coming, proof of just how out of it he was.

"He's still not awake?"

"No," Tomoyo said sadly. "But I have faith in him. Kurogane can pull through anything."

Fai turned away from her, glancing down at the illegible parchment. He wanted something to look at that wasn't Tomoyo. When Kurogane had been in a talking mood, he had told him quite a bit about the princess. He felt guilty for nearly losing the girl her greatest protector.

"It's my fault."

Tomoyo was about to say something but Fai stood abruptly, allowing the scroll to fall from his grip.

"It is! You know it is. He might've died. _He might have died!_"

"But he didn't," the princess said calmly, trying her best to work through the wizard's hysteria. "It won't help anything to dwell on what might have been. Kurogane chose his own path. His injuries are not your fault and he would be the first to say so. Only…he would probably say it in so many more words."

Fai smiled slightly, imagining just what some of those words might be.

"So…what made you choose _this_ scroll?" Tomoyo quickly changed the subject, knowing that it would be better for Fai to discuss all of this with Kurogane and not her.

Fai picked up the fallen scroll and handed it to the princess. "I'm not sure. It's not like I can read it or anything."

"Well, either way, you made a good choice. My father brought several of these tales back from other lands. Before Amaterasu became empress and I priestess, she used to read them to me."

"What are they?"

"It's called The Labyrinth. There are many different versions of the tale, but the basic plot at the center of each one is that the King of the Goblins steals someone precious to the hero and the hero must solve the labyrinth that surrounds the Goblin King's palace. Sometimes the hero is a prince, or a princess, or even a regular person. The kidnapped person also changes from story to story. Sometimes the person will be a sibling, a best friend…maybe even a lover. The version you chose tells the story of how the Goblin King steals a young prince and his lover braves the labyrinth to save him." Tomoyo quickly glanced down at the open scroll. "You had it open at the very end when the lover confronts the Goblin King. Give me the prince," she started to read from the scroll, her voice taking on a darker, dramatic tone. Fai shuddered as he listened. He didn't know why, but the words felt strangely familiar to him.

"Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin city…to take back the man that you have stolen. For my will is as strong as yours…and my kingdom is as great. You have no power over me."

As she spoke the last line, Tomoyo gazed directly into his eye. Fai suddenly had the feeling that he was being searched and turned away from the priestess-princess, unable to look at her anymore. Tomoyo kept up this probing gaze for only a moment before rolling up the scroll and placing it back on the shelf where it belonged.

"You know…perhaps you were meant to find the tale."

_Ah_, Fai found himself thinking. _Hitsuzen again. What could it possibly want with me this time?_

"Fai-san," she said softly, addressing him by name for the first time since their harried first meeting. "Please get some sleep tonight."

Fai shook his head, a mask sliding over his face more out of habit now than anything else. "I already nodded off once today and I want to be awake when Kuro-rin comes round."

Tomoyo giggled. "I think he'd forgive you this one night. If anything, I think he'd be angry with you for putting his sacrifice to shame and not taking care of yourself. Please…rest." The princess didn't wait for a response. She glided silently away through the darkness of the ancient library, leaving the mage to his thoughts.

Not really understanding why, he went back to the shelf and retrieved the scroll, pouring over the foreign words once more and wishing that he could unlock their secrets.

_The story…how does it end?_

XxX

"I'm sorry I've kept you waiting. You can come in now," Fai heard Tomoyo's voice through the thin sliding door. For a small instant, he panicked. What would he say to him? What _did _you say to someone who sliced off his arm for you? With this and more on his mind, Fai slid the door open. The first thing his eye found was Kurogane, sitting up on his futon. He gladly drank in the sight of him, alive; but his stomach turned slightly as he gazed at the spot where the ninja's left arm should have been.

At first, he tried not to look Kurogane in the eyes, but he could feel his piercing gaze on him. When he finally did look up, he was surprised to see a question in the man's eyes. His expression was not much different than usual, but Fai had known him long enough to know what his eyes could say.

_Are you all right?_

Fai did not answer. The question melted away and was replaced by exhaustion.

"Hey," Kurogane said in greeting.

Fai hesitated for a moment, not sure if he was in his right mind. But then he made the decision and moved forward, delivering a staggering blow to his companion's face, sending him reeling back onto the futon. The warrior didn't cry out; he just stared up at the mage in shock.

"This is payback…Kuro-sama," he explained, letting him know that everything that had been hanging between them since Tokyo was forgiven.

"You bastard," Kurogane said with a smirk. "I'll beat you up." Fai was both shocked and happy to note that the smirk did not reach his eyes. For the first time since he'd known him, Kurogane's eyes held a pure, unburdened smile. Fai returned that small token with the first true smile he had given anyone since Ashura-ou.

The two were snapped out of their moment by the sound of Tomoyo attempting to suppress a giggle. "I'll leave you two alone, then," she said as she slipped out the door, giggling to herself and shutting it behind her.

The mage and the ninja sat in silence for awhile after the princess had gone, but it wasn't the strained, aching silence that had been between them for so long. This was a comfortable silence, full of meaning. But suddenly, the silence was broken by Fai throwing himself at Kurogane. The wizard wrapped his arms around him, shouting things into his chest that he couldn't understand. Kurogane hesitated, uncertain of how to deal with this new, truthful Fai. But after awhile, he just wrapped his own arm around him and held him close, listening to him cry.

"I was so worried about you!" he finally managed to get out. "You've been out for a week. You're a god damned _fool_, you know that? Why did you do it?"

"Because I couldn't just leave you behind. Not when I could do something about it."

"Kuro-myuu," Fai sniffed, actually sounding affectionate when he said the nickname. "You shouldn't have done it. If you knew what was good for you, you would have left me. I'm not worth-"

"No," Kurogane interrupted him. "I don't want to hear anymore, wizard. To me…you_ are_ worth it. I don't regret this at all."

"But I _do_ regret it, Kuro-tan," he said quietly as he pulled away from the ninja's one-armed embrace. "You…all of you…would be so much better off without me."

Kurogane was about to respond when all hell suddenly broke loose.

All of the lamps in the room went out all at once, almost as if they had been snuffed out by a giant's breath. Cackling voices sounded in the darkness and the two could feel movement all around them. Lightening flashed outside and wind pounded against the sliding door that led out to the balcony.

"What's happening?!" Fai shouted.

"Who's there?" Kurogane demanded angrily, instinctively reaching for his sword but instantly remembering that he no longer had one to draw. Could it be invaders? Was the castle under attack?

"Show yourself!" While his anger did not move the shifting shapes in the darkness to take form, they did start to move forward. The cackling shadows oozed towards the two companions.

"Kurogane, watch out!" Fai shouted, drawing the ninja's attention to his own feet. His eyes widened as he saw the liquid shadow pool around his feet and begin to climb steadily up his body, laughing maniacally all the while.

"Move!" he ordered sternly, quickly shoving Fai out of the way so the stuff wouldn't touch him. Fai hit the floor with an undignified yelp, but he was soon back on his feet.

"Kurogane!" he shouted, but there was little he could do. He could not reach him through the twisting shadows and the stuff was crawling ever faster up his body.

"Get out of here!" Kurogane managed to shout before a glob of the stuff filled his mouth. It wasn't long before the seething shadow had swallowed him completely.

"NO!" Fai screamed as he shot a bolt of magic at the living shadow. But nothing helped. The laughing shadow flared up briefly and sank back into the darkness as if it had never been.

"GIVE HIM BACK!" he screamed helplessly at nothing. Unfortunately for him, it was not nothing for long.

The wind finally succeeded in tearing through the thin balcony door, bringing with it a tall figure wreathed in shadow. Fai stared at the figure in shock, a single, helpless litany streaming through his mind.

_It can't be. It can't be. It just can't be!_

It was Ashura-ou…and yet not him. This man was clothed all in black, and his dark eyes were, in the truest sense, lifeless. Fai suddenly remembered the scroll from the previous night and he finally realized what the shade before him was.

"You're…him, aren't you?" he asked, half choking on the words. "You're the Goblin King."

The pale mouth twisted into a smirk, confirming what the wizard already knew.

"What have you done with Kurogane?"

"What's said is said," the king replied condescendingly.

"What are you talking about?"

"You said it yourself. Kurogane would be so much better off without you. Well…he is without you."

"This isn't what I meant," Fai said shakily. "Where is he?"

"You know very well where he is," Ashura said, the look of condescension seemingly plastered to his face.

"Please bring him back, please," Fai openly begged. He had just gotten Kurogane back. To lose him now…

"Fai," Ashura began, truly addressing him for the first time. "Go back to Sakura and Syaoran, and forget the promise you made to give up your magic. Keep it. Use it for yourself. Forget about the ninja."

"I can't," Fai said calmly.

The king raised a surprised eyebrow at this, but then he raised a hand in the air and shadows curled out of it, forming themselves into a magic staff. It was exactly the same as Fai's old staff; except this one was black instead of gold.

"I've brought you a gift. A new staff to replace the one you gave up. But this staff is not for a weak mage who barters away his powers as if they were nothing," he warned, running a pale hand down the polished length of the dark staff. "Do you want it?"

Fai stared blankly at the staff. He could sense that it was extremely powerful, but he wasn't even remotely considering the offer.

"Then forget the ninja."

"I can't," he repeated angrily. "I'd _never_ choose a staff over Kurogane. _I want him back!_"

"Yuui," the man started, calling Fai by his true name and rocking him to the very core of his being. He held up the staff once more and it instantly transformed itself into a black snake. Ashura slowly unwrapped the creature from around his wrist, stretching it out to its full length.

"Don't defy me," he warned before tossing the poisonous snake at Fai. The wizard cried out as the dark creature wrapped itself around his neck, but as he clawed at its scaly skin, the snake evaporated into a hot wisp of shadow.

"You're no match for me, Fai," Ashura said laughingly.

"Whether I am or not," Fai started weakly, still rubbing his neck. "I _will_ have Kurogane back."

Ashura sighed at this and motioned Fai over to the balcony. He pointed out the gaping hole in the wall and Fai realized that he was no longer looking at Nihon, but a different world entirely. A sprawling labyrinth stretched for miles in all directions, sucking the life out of an already barren landscape. At its very center was a castle, huge beyond measure.

"He's there…in my castle. Do you still want to look for him?"

"Is that…the castle beyond the Goblin city?" he asked, turning back to face Ashura. As he did, Fai saw that they had left Nihon behind entirely and had entered the world of the labyrinth. He also noticed that with the change in worlds, he had undergone a change in wardrobe. The clothing that Tomoyo-hime had given him had changed back into his Celesian clothes.

"Turn back, Fai," the king lamented as if the mage were already dead and buried. "Turn back before it's too late."

"I can't," Fai insisted determinedly. "Don't you understand that I can't?"

"What a pity."

"It doesn't look that far," the wizard said as he turned back to face the labyrinth, trying his best to give himself some confidence.

"It's further than you think," he suddenly heard Ashura's voice directly in his ear. "Time is short."

Fai had nothing more to say to the Ashura-spectre. His steely silence spoke volumes. He would see this through to the end.

"Another thing," the king added with a sadistic smirk. "Remove your eye patch."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

Fai didn't quite understand the command but he complied, nonetheless. He pulled the patch from his head and, to his shock, he could see perfectly well. The eye was not missing. He cast a confused face at the pale shade of his mentor.

"None of your disabilities hold here. You have both eyes and full use of your magic. Your vampiric parasite does not hold either. You can be whole here.

"Why?" was all he could manage to get out.

"Because that's the way it is in this world. And now…" Ashura raised yet another hand and summoned a very ornate clock out of thin air. "You have thirteen hours in which to solve the labyrinth before your precious ninja becomes one of us forever. Such a pity," he said as he faded into thin air.

Fai quickly turned his attention back to the labyrinth. If he only had thirteen hours, then he had no time to dwell on the Ashura-that-wasn't-Ashura.

"The labyrinth," he said to himself as he surveyed the scene…with both eyes! "It doesn't look that hard. Well, come on, feet," he said, trying to be cheerful as he started down the hill towards the outer wall. He would save Kurogane…no matter what.

XxX

"What happened to them?" Souma asked.

Tomoyo stepped into the room that had so recently been occupied by Kurogane and Fai. Souma followed close behind. There was absolutely no sign of what had just occurred, but Tomoyo knew of it just the same.

"There's no sign of a struggle," the female ninja commented.

"There wouldn't be," the young princess said serenely. "The wizard of Celes and the warrior of Nihon must both face one last test before they can move forward."

Souma glanced around the empty room once more. She had no idea what was going on, but she trusted her princess.

"Gods be with you, Kurogane…and with your companion."

XxX

(A/N) To be honest with you, I almost want to rewrite the opening. It seems a little disjointed to me. But hey, so be it. Do let me know what y'alls think. If anyone's interested, I can have a new chapter up within the week.

BTW, anyone who caught the Serenity reference in the intro just became 90 percent cooler.


	2. Certain Death

(A/N) Mm, seventy hits, yummy. Two reviews? Somehow that doesn't add up. Oh well, you can't have everything. Moro-Moro and Lauren, thank you much for your vote of confidence. Happy New Year to all and I hope you all enjoy the chapter.

**The Center Of The Labyrinth**

_Chapter 2: Certain Death_

Over the months, Fai had grown used to having skewed depth perception. Now, to have his left eye back so suddenly, he could hardly keep from turning his head everywhere at once as he moved down the hill, trying to see everything at once.

On one of his sweeps around the outer wall of the labyrinth, he happened to catch sight of a cloaked figure standing next to a pond, obviously answering nature's call.

"Um…excuse me?" Fai asked hesitantly, uncertain whether or not he should interrupt. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have, but he didn't have much time and there was no one else around.

"Oh, excuse _me_," a familiar voice answered from within the confines of the hooded cloak. The hood did not come down as the figure turned to face him.

"Ah, it's you," the same voice said.

"My name is Fai," the wizard began slowly, still trying to figure out why the voice was so familiar.

"That's what I thought," the voice said as its owner turned and walked away from him.

"I have to get through this labyrinth. Can you help me?" Fai asked as he fell into step behind the mystery figure.

"Maybe," he said as he ran his hands along the bricks that made up the wall. "But then again…maybe not."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm looking for something."

"Wait a minute!" Fai said in surprise, having finally recognized the voice. "Syaoran-kun?"

The figure finally lowered his hood, revealing that he was, in fact, Syaoran. His eyes narrowed suspiciously as he regarded the pale mage.

"How do you know my name?"

"That's…not important," he said awkwardly, realizing that this was not the Syaoran he knew, but another version that belonged to this world. "Besides, I might ask you the same thing. You seemed to know mine already."

"Yeah, well…I've been here long enough to know things like that. You're the labyrinth's newest "guest", here to rescue your ninja friend."

"What are _you_ looking for?" Fai asked, returning to the previous line of questioning.

"That's also "not important"."

"If it's not important, then why won't you help me?"

"Help you what?"

"Find the way in."

"The way in where?"

Fai sighed in frustration. "It's hopeless asking you anything, isn't it?"

"Not if you ask the right question," Syaoran explained with a smirk.

A shallow smile crossed over Fai's face. "Ah. In that case…how do I go about getting into the labyrinth?"

Syaoran raised an eyebrow. Fai couldn't quite tell if he was pleased or pissed that he had figured it out.

"That's more like it. You get in…there," the boy answered cryptically, pointing off to Fai's left. Fai glanced over his shoulder and saw a large set of double doors where none had been before. As if Syaoran's words had moved them, the doors slowly swung wide open.

"You're…really going in there, are you?" Syaoran queried.

"Yes," Fai answered as he moved towards the doors. "I'm afraid I have to."

The mage stepped cautiously through the doorway, half expecting something to jump out and rip his head off. But nothing like that happened, so he moved a few steps further in. The place smelled musty and ancient. Gnarled roots erupted out of the ground and seemingly dead tree branches burst out of the wall in places, reaching their spindly limbs out into the air. Fai noticed all of these things but the thing that jumped to the front of mind was the magic that hung so heavily in the air. To someone as sensitive to magic as he was, it was like a great buzzing noise that filled his head, a thick sludge that drowned out all of his senses. He was obviously not going to be able to use magic to find his way. He was so busy trying to sort through the magical static that he didn't notice Syaoran come up behind him.

"Cozy, ain't it?" the boy said with a fit of cackling, causing Fai to jump slightly. This boy had very little in common with the Syaoran he knew. For one thing, he was a little bit older and he was almost as rude as Kuro-wan. Plus, this Syaoran had a sense of sarcasm thicker than mud. The Syaoran he knew also didn't have an obvious obsession with regular, everyday feathers. The young man had a black one tucked behind his ear and a pouch tied to his waist that was full to bursting with them.

"Now, would you go left or right?" he asked, gesturing a hand down each pathway.

"They both look the same," Fai said absently as he glanced around again.

"Well, you're not going to get very far," Syaoran said sourly.

"Which way would you go?" Fai asked, deciding not to address Syaoran's blatant lack of faith in him.

"Me? I wouldn't go either way."

"Well, Syaoran-kun, if that's all the help you're going to be, then you and I have nothing to say to each other," Fai said cheerfully as he turned to go down the right-hand path.

"You know what your problem is?" Syaoran called after him. "You take too many things for granted. This labyrinth, for example. Even if you _do_ get to the center, brave all and hasten to your dearest love's rescue, you'll never get out again."

"Ku…Kuro-tan's not…my love," Fai protested loudly, a light blush spreading over his cheeks. He had often thought…that maybe…if he only just…no! Kurogane was his traveling companion and his friend…nothing more…no matter how much he might wish – _stop that!_

"Besides, that's just _your_ opinion."

"Well it's a lot better than yours!" Syaoran said angrily.

"Thanks for the help, Syaoi-boy," the magician said merrily before striding away into the labyrinth.

"It's Syaoran! And don't say I didn't warn you!" he shouted before turning on his heels and stomping angrily out of the door, which vanished instantly behind him.

Fai did not look back. Honestly, he had expected something like that to happen. It _was_ a magic labyrinth after all. For several minutes after Syaoran left him, he walked purposefully down the long corridor, which seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see. Before long, he began to get frustrated.

"What do they mean "labyrinth"? There aren't any turns or corners or anything. This just goes on and on!" But even as he said it, he knew it wasn't true. He knew there was a spell at work here, he just didn't know what it was or how to break it; and his frustration was just causing the buzzing in his head to get louder. He started running, even though he knew it wouldn't help him find an opening. He felt fear building up in his chest. What if he couldn't figure out how to escape the spell? He certainly wasn't powerful enough to overcome the magic white noise that was drowning everything else out. If he couldn't find a way to shield himself from it, the damn static was going to eat away at his mind, devouring him whole. But even that wasn't the worst of it. If he couldn't escape the spell on the corridor, he wouldn't be able to solve the labyrinth, and if he couldn't do that, then Kurogane would be trapped here forever!

Fai suddenly found himself facedown in the dirt. He'd been going so fast that he'd tripped over a tree root. The mage gave himself over to an uncharacteristic display of anger and pounded his fist into the ground. He screamed, loud and long, anything to relieve himself of the buzzing!

He leaned up against one of the walls with his head in his hands. How pathetic he was. Couldn't even overcome a magic block.

"'allo."

Fai glanced up, frantically searching for the source of the voice. Who was there? Finally, his eyes fell on the wall to his immediate right and found a small creature covered in black fur. Oddly enough, Fai found himself thinking that it's eyes looked familiar.

"Did you just say hello?" he asked uncertainly.

"No, I said 'allo, but that's close enough," the creature said wisely.

"You're a wyrm, aren't you," Fai said, turning so that he could better look her in the eyes.

"Yeah. S'right. Come inside and meet me sista," the young wyrm said, inclining her head towards a particularly large crack in the brick.

"No, thank you," Fai declined politely, shaking his head to try and clear the noise. It didn't help, but he continued the conversation anyway. "You wouldn't happen to know the way through this labyrinth, would you, wyrm-chan?"

"Who? Me? Nah, I'm just a wyrm. Name's Tomoyo," she said brightly.

"Tomoyo?" Fai questioned sharply, the pieces falling into place in his head. Obviously, she wasn't the Tomoyo he'd met, but she was still something slightly familiar and he took comfort from that. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Tomoyo-chan. My name is Fai."

" 'allo, Fai-san. Why don't ya come inside and have a nice cup a tea."

"I'm sorry, I really can't. I need to solve this labyrinth. But there aren't any turns or openings or anything! It just goes on and on!" he said hopelessly, hating the whine he heard in his voice.

"Well, you ain't lookin' right. It's full of openings. It's just you ain't seein' 'em."

"Where are they?"

"There's one just across there, right in front a you."

"But…that's just wall. There's no way through," Fai said, throwing a confused glance at the solid brick wall.

"Of course there is," Tomoyo giggled. "You try walkin' through it. You'll see what I mean. Things aren't always what they seem in this place. So you can't take anything for granted."

"Okay," the mage sighed, climbing to his feet and moving slowly towards the wall, hands held out in front of him. What would happen? Would he simply pass through? Was it really that simple?

"Hey!" Fai cried in surprised delight as he glanced from side to side. The illusion had vanished and he could see that he had passed through an opening. Two new pathways had opened on either side of him. He quickly started moving down the one to his left.

"Hey! Hang on!" Tomoyo called after him. Fai turned back.

"Thank you, Tomoyo-chan. That was incredibly helpful," he said, starting to walk off once more.

"But don't go that way!"

"Excuse me?"

"I said, don't go that way. _Never_ go that way. It leads to certain death!"

Fai tilted his head quizzically. "Oh. Okay, then. Goodbye, Tomoyo-chan," he said, disappearing down the path to the right.

"Oi," Tomoyo-wyrm shook her head. "If he'd a' kept on goin' down that way, he'd a' gone straight to that castle."

Unfortunately, Fai didn't catch this last comment. If he had, things could have been so much easier. But he didn't, they weren't, and here we are.

Fai had finally gotten what he wanted: turns, corners, and openings. Only, because of them, he was now more lost than ever before. The buzzing was just getting worse and, to Fai's dismay, he could no longer sense Kurogane's presence. Ashura hadn't been kidding when he said that he wasn't a vampire here. Ever since the transfer of blood, he and Kurogane had shared a blood bond and, as such, had been able to sense each other ever after. But now, that part of his mind that Kurogane had inhabited was empty. He couldn't feel him anymore.

"Mage," Fai suddenly heard the ninja's voice in his ear. He spun around, and in the distance he could clearly see the castle.

"I'm coming, Kuro-pon," he said softly as he started off in the direction of the castle. But no sooner had he taken two steps forward then-

"Wizard," his voice sounded again, coming from a completely different direction. Fai turned and realized that the castle had jumped about ten miles to the left.

"Damn! More illusions." He wouldn't be able to find his way like this.

Magician," he heard the voice again. Again, he spun around, trying to locate the source.

**Mage…**

** Wizard…**

** Magician…**

** Fai…**

Kurogane's voice was coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once. It was joining with the buzzing, trying to drown his mind.

"St- stop it!" he shouted.

"Mage."

_He was in pain._

"Wizard."

_Suffering. _

"Magician."

_He needed him._

"Fai!"

_Death!_

"NOOOO!" Fai screamed. Things and flashes of things assaulted his mind "STOP IT!"

He dropped to his knees, clutching his head in his hands. The static, combined with Kurogane's tortured voice, was eating away at his brain.

"Don't…hurt him," he cried weakly, curling into a ball. "I'm doing the best I can."

XxX

When the swordsman of Nihon regained consciousness, the first thing he noticed was the fact that he had both arms. He sat up slowly, moving the arm and feeling it, making sure that it was really there. It was definitely real, twined to the flesh of his shoulder as if it had never been gone. The next revelation was that Sohi was back at his side. When he noticed the familiar weight of the sword hanging comfortably from his belt, he also realized that he was back in his ninja armor.

"Where…am I?" he wondered to himself, glancing around for the first time. He was in some sort of bubble, as far as he could tell. He ran his hand along the clear surface. It felt like glass. Perhaps he could use Sohi to break it.

"I wouldn't try anything if I were you," a familiar voice warned from beyond the confines of the bubble.

"Yeah? Well, you're not me," Kurogane automatically shot back. "Personally I'd prefer _not_ to be trapped in a giant glass bubble."

"Your sword will not break that shield, ninja. It was woven by my strongest magic."

He glanced down at the sword once more. "Why is Sohi here? And for that matter, why do I have both arms?" he asked the voice.

"That is how it is in this world. Things that have been broken can be repaired. Things that are incomplete can be whole again. Your friend is experiencing very much the same thing."

"You mean the mage?"

"Yes. He now sees with two eyes and does not need blood to sustain himself."

Kurogane started. Fai wasn't a vampire anymore? That actually made sense. It explained why he could no longer sense the wizard's presence.

"Where am I?" he demanded of the voice. "Why have you brought me here?"

"Tsk tsk, little ninja. No manners at all. What Fai sees in you, I'll never know."

The darkness around the sphere suddenly cleared. Kurogane found himself staring out across a large throne room. The shadows that had tried to drown him before were swirling about in every nook and cranny of the great hall. Some of them occasionally took form as small creatures, but mostly they remained shapeless, shifting masses of shadow brimming with wicked laughter. At the head of it all was a throne, and lounging carelessly in this throne was a man that should have been dead.

"Ashura?" Kurogane hissed. "But…you're dead. I killed you."

"Mm, yes," the king said languidly. "Fai seemed to think so, too."

"Where is the idiot magician?"

"Why, he's out searching for you of course."

"What?"

"Kurogane, you are imprisoned in the castle at the center of the labyrinth. Fai has about nine hours and twenty-three minutes left in which to solve said labyrinth before you become one of my minions forever."

Kurogane rolled his eyes. "Well, someone tell him not to. I can get myself out of here."

"Oh, I very much doubt that. You underestimate the power of a nightmare."

"What the hell does that mean? Why use _me_ against the mage?"

Ashura smiled a not-quite-sane smile. "I brought you here because you are the fire that fuels Fai's anger. Would you like to see him?"

"How?"

Ashura waved a hand and the sphere cage floated down next to the throne. He waved the hand again and a large mirror appeared before them. At first, the image staring back at them was their own, but the image soon changed to one of Fai in a crumpled heap on the ground.

"NOO! THE NOISE! STOP THE BUZZING!" the wizard screamed pitifully. He was bashing his head against the stone ground in an attempt to make whatever it was that was torturing him stop.

"Mage!" Kurogane shouted, pounding a fist against the shield. He turned angry eyes towards Ashura. "What are you doing to him?"

"Me? I'm not doing anything," he answered innocently. "I thought this might come up, though. Most comers to the labyrinth don't have this problem, but because Fai is such a powerful wizard he is very attuned to the magic that pervades it. Countless spells have been laid over the labyrinth to prevent anyone from using magic to solve it. Fai hears all of this magic as a great noise in his head and, as a result, it is starting to scramble his mind. If he doesn't figure out how to shield himself from it…" the king let the sentence hang, unfinished.

Kurogane drew Sohi in a flash of rage. He slashed the sword at the magic barrier again and again, trying his hardest to break through it. He had to get out. He had to help Fai. The wizard was only here in the first place because of him.

"Ah, yes. Fight the good fight, dear ninja. Break through the strongest barriers of the Goblin King. Defeat the monsters. Win the prize. Brave all and hasten to your beloved's rescue."

Kurogane stopped his fierce assault. What was that? His…beloved? He was too shocked to respond to Ashura in his usual fashion. Normally such an insinuation would have sent him on a screaming tirade, but after everything that had happened…He wasn't certain when the change had occurred, but there was no doubt in his mind that Fai was the person that was most important to him. Back in Tokyo, he had been angry that the magician had wanted to die so badly, not because he'd been disgusted with his willingness to give up, but because he'd selfishly wanted him to live. Before he'd met Fai, if anyone had crossed his path so desperately wishing for death he would have gladly obliged them without a second thought. But Fai…for reasons he'd been unable to explain back then, he couldn't just let him die. As they'd lived through the hell of Infinity, Kurogane had come to realize that he needed Fai just as surely as Fai needed his blood. The bastard wizard was as essential to him as air. He needed him in order to live. The ninja had admitted that to himself easily enough. Saying it out loud, however, was another matter all together.

"Did I touch a nerve?" Ashura teased with a wicked sneer. "Come now, little Kurogane, admit it."

"Not to you."

"What if I were…to kill him? What would you do then?"

"I'd kill you right back," Kurogane replied succinctly. Ashura kept talking but he stopped listening. He focused all of his will power on the image of the suffering magician, wanting nothing more than to take his pain away.

_Come on, you idiot mage. You can pull through this. I don't want you dying for me._

XxX

Fai had long ago surrendered his senses to pain. The magic was not just in his head anymore. It was in _him_. It was taking him over, making him it's own. The static would claim his mind and soul and his body would fade away into the labyrinth. He was at the point of welcoming that final surrender. If he joined with it…would the pain stop?

However, just as Fai was readying himself to make that final plunge, another voice came to him, screaming in over the incessant buzzing.

_Come on, you idiot mage! You can pull through this. _

"Kuro…sama?" he heard his lips whispering, forming the name.

_You can die later, Fai,_ he mentally berated himself. _Right now, you have to save Kuro-rin._

The weakened mage rose to his knees and cast a shield around himself. It had occurred to him to try this spell earlier but obviously, he had been hesitant. Now that the shield was up, he was completely cut off from magic. This was the only way this was going to work. He could neither use nor sense magic at all. Could he really get by without even being able to sense magic?

"What's the use in giving me back my full powers if I can't even _use_ them? Hardly fair, Ashura-ou," he said with a bitter laugh.

"You're right. It's _not_ fair."

Fai spun around at the sound of the voice…and was faced with what was, quite likely, one of the oddest things he had ever seen.

He couldn't tell if he was looking at four beings or two. Whatever they were, each of the two pairs shared a shield. One being stood upright while the other hung upside down behind the same shield, giving them the appearance of being a single creature. However, the strangest thing of all was that the four creatures all had familiar faces. At the door to his left, the face of Seishiro stood upright, while Subaru gazed up at him from below. To his right, Fuma stood guarding the door, while Kamui hung in the upside down position. Fai's eyes lingered on Kamui a little longer than any of the others, but he ultimately decided not to get into all of the trouble of why he knew all of their names. Instead, he settled for, "This was a dead end a minute ago." For indeed, it had been. Like so much else in the labyrinth, the four door guardians had appeared out of nowhere.

"No. That's the dead end, behind you," Kamui said with a slightly evil giggle. Fai glanced back over his shoulder, quickly noted this as being the truth, and moved towards the two doors.

"All right, gentlemen, let's get this over with. How do I get out?"

"The only way out of here is to try one of these doors," Subaru began to explain.

"One of them leads to the castle at the center of the labyrinth, and the other one leads to-"

"Ba-ba-ba-bum!" Fuma interjected.

"Certain death!" Kamui finished.

"Ooooh!" the four guardians exclaimed all at once.

"So…which one is which?"

"Eh…we can't tell you," Subaru said.

"Why ever not?" Fai asked, his smile growing a little tight.

Subaru and Kamui exchanged several confused words and glances.

"We don't know," Subaru said happily.

"But they do," Kamui continued, inclining his head towards Seishiro and Fuma.

"Oh. Then I'll ask them."

"No. You can't ask us. You can only ask _one_ of us," Seishiro warned him.

"It's in the rules. And I should warn you that one of us always tells the truth and one of us always lies. That's a rule, too," Fuma explained sagely before inclining his head towards Seishiro. "_He_ always lies."

"I do not!" Seishiro protested indignantly. "I tell the truth!"

"Oh-ho, what a lie!" Fuma shot back.

Fai knew that it did not truly matter which door he chose. The labyrinth changed according to it's own whims. If he chose right, the labyrinth could just change the path. There was no right or wrong here. There was only the way forward. But, Fai being Fai, he decided to mess with the guardians' minds anyway.

"Answer yes or no," he started questioning as he stepped towards Seishiro. "Would _he_ tell me that this door leads to the castle?" he asked, inclining his head towards Fuma.

Seishiro seemed to consider this for a moment, then he ducked his head behind the shield to confer with Subaru. When he finally looked up again, his face still held an air of confusion.

"Yes?"

"Then…the _other_ door leads to the castle and _this_ door leads to certain death," he said slowly.

"Oooooh!" all four exclaimed together.

"How do you know?" Seishiro asked. "He could be telling the truth."

"But then you wouldn't be. So if you told me he said yes, I know the answer is no."

"But _I_ could be telling the truth!"

"But then _he_ would be lying. So if you told me that he said yes, I know the answer would still be no."

"Wait a minute. Is that right?" Seishiro asked the other guardians.

"I don't know. I've never understood it," Fuma said with a cheerful smile as he and Kamui stood aside to reveal Fai's chosen door.

"No. It's right," he assured them as he moved through.

"Not that it matters, though," he added as the trap door beneath his feet opened up and dropped him through.

"Hey!" Fai shouted as hundreds of hands grabbed onto his body, passing him down into the darkness. "Let go!"

"Okay," a voice sounded from somewhere around him.

For a moment, Fai was freefalling through the shaft. He didn't cry out, but several more hands took hold of him, perhaps just to prove that they were in control of his body for the moment.

"All right then, which way?" a set of hands asked as they banded together to form the semblance of a face.

"Pardon?"

"Up or down?"

"Yes. Which way?"

"Come on. We haven't got all day."

"Where is your big decision?"

"Which way do you_want_ to go?"

Fai was getting dizzy. What with different groups of hands firing questions at him at a mile a minute, it was a wonder that he still _knew_ up from down at all.

"No touching, please," he warned a pair of over-eager hands somewhere behind him. "Tell me, little hands, if I were to say that I wanted to go back up, what would you do?"

"Meh, we'd send you down anyway," another set of hands that bore a striking resemblance to Shogo Asagi answered him casually.

"Oh, well. At least you're honest. I can respect that. Let's get on with it. Down it is," Fai said with an amicable grin.

The other hands gave several loud cheers as Fai allowed himself to be dropped through a dark hole without ceremony. Fai landed in a heap on the dusty ground as a grate was placed over the hole, sealing him in.

"I wouldn't exactly call this certain death," Fai said to himself as he climbed to his feet, rubbing his sore backside. "But I can see where this could prove to be potentially problematic."

XxX

"He's in the oubliette," Ashura announced tensely to the roomful of demi-shadows, who all started up with their evil laughter once again.

"Shut up!" the king countered, sounding slightly annoyed. "He should not have gotten as far as the oubliette. He should have given up by now."

"He'll never give up," one of the shadows said in a gravelly voice.

"Won't he?" Ashura wondered out loud. "The boy's about to lead him back to the beginning. He'll soon give up when he realizes he has to start all over again." Ashura let fly a few evil chuckles at this, but then he noticed that none of his minions were joining in. He gave them all an annoyed glare.

"Well, laugh!"

On cue, the shadows burst into raucous laughter. As this went on, Ashura turned his attention to Kurogane, who was still trapped in the magic barrier. "So ninja, what do you think? Looking forward to becoming a shadow goblin?"

Kurogane gave the king a superior smirk. "_Buzz_, mother fucker," he said, remembering the words Fai had been screaming before. There was a hint of pride in his voice for the mage's being able to figure out a way to shield himself.

"Oh? Is that all? In that case…"Ashura did not even raise a hand this time. All he did was make eye contact with the swordsman and every fiber of Kurogane's being was on fire. He collapsed to his knees within the confines of his prison, twitching, jerking, biting his tongue until the blood came. He did everything but scream. He would not give his enemy that satisfaction.

"Come on now, Kurogane. Won't you give me one tiny, little scream?" Ashura asked, as if he had read his mind.

"Go to hell, you bastard!" Kurogane shouted, digging his fingers into his arms in order to keep control of himself. He had never experienced anything quite like this. Pain lanced into every part of him, as if the sensation itself was trying to tear him apart. His very existence became an unending string of pain. It ate away at his brain, slowly stripping away all of his discipline. If Ashura kept this up much longer…he might…

But just as suddenly as the pain spell had begun, it was over. Kurogane collapsed gratefully to his back, taking shallow breaths.

"_Now_ what do you think, little swordsman?" the king asked smugly.

Kurogane didn't answer. He couldn't. He was afraid that his voice would betray his weakness if he spoke now. He just lay there, trembling.

"Hmm, I see. Well, no matter. Perhaps I can get a scream out of you next time."

The ninja barely managed to keep a whimper from escaping his mouth. He hadn't whimpered since he was, like, five. He had taught himself to bear great pain but…next time?

_Get your ass up here, magic boy. I don't know how much of this I can take. _

XxX

Fai had only been in the pit for a few minutes when he started to hear movement in the darkness around him.

"Who's there?"

"Me," a gruff, yet familiar voice sounded in the black.

"Syaoran-kun?" Fai asked.

"Yeah. I knew you were going to get into trouble as soon as I met you. So I've come to give you a hand." Suddenly the black pit lit up as Syaoran lit a candle that Fai hadn't noticed was there. As the light crept into the dark corners, Fai began to explore the cell he found himself in.

"Lookin' around now, aren't you? I supposed you noticed there ain't no doors. Only the hole. This is an oubliette."

"Really? I didn't know that," Fai said absently, noting the chains and spider webs that adorned the walls.

"Don't sound so smart!" Syaoran sniped. "You don't even know what an oubliette_is_."

"Do you?" Fai asked. Admittedly, it was true, and he saw no reason to beat around the bush about the subject.

"Yes," the older Syaoran said smugly. "It's a place you put people to _forget_ about 'em."

Fai raised an eyebrow at the dramatic pause the ruder Syaoran placed here. It was probably meant to scare him, but the fact of the matter was that it didn't and he was beginning to get a little annoyed with the young man.

"Er…yes, now, what you've gotta do is get out of here. And it just so happens that I know a shortcut…out of the whole labyrinth from here."

"No!" Fai exclaimed indignantly. "I'm not giving up now! I've come too far!"

"This is ridiculous," the mage said to himself as he sat down on a rock to gather his scattered thoughts. "I'm doing _okay_."

"Of course you are," Syaoran said, sympathetically placing a hand on his shoulder. "But it gets a lot worse from here on in."

Fai glanced back over his shoulder at Syaoran. The boy had a very encouraging look on his face, a look that did not at all keep with the behavior he'd exhibited towards him thus far. Fai found himself growing suspicious.

"Why are you so concerned about me?"

Syaoran instantly backed off. "Oh, well…I am. That's all. Y'know, lost, helpless traveler, terrible, black oubliette."

Fai took another look at all of the feathers adorning the young man. "You like feathers, don't you?"

Syaoran narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

Fai reached into his coat and pulled out a long silver feather. It was something he'd found back in Shara and he'd held onto it because he thought it looked pretty. "If you help me solve the labyrinth, I'll give you this." He noted the way Syaoran's eyes glittered with excitement at the sight of the feather. "You like it, don't you?"

The boy suddenly seemed to realize that he was letting his guard down and immediately clammed up again. "Eh…so-so."

"Oh. Okay," Fai said, standing up and withdrawing the feather.

"Tell you what," Syaoran interjected, practically salivating to have the feather back out. "You give me the feather, and I'll show you the way out of the labyrinth."

"You were going to do that anyway," Fai reminded him in a singsong voice.

"True," Syaoran admitted. "But that's what would make it a particularly nice gesture on your part."

"All right, if you won't take me to the center, at least take me as far as you can, and then I'll do it on my own."

Syaoran hesitated for only a moment before leaning conspiratorially close to Fai. "I can't promise anything but…I'll take you as far as I can. Then you're on your own. Right?"

"Right," Fai agreed, handing over the feather.

"Right," Syaoran repeated, moving towards a discarded piece of wood as he admired his new feather. But then he tucked the silver feather behind his other ear, picked up the plank, and set it securely against the wall. Then he pulled a ring of keys out of one of his pockets and used one to unlock the left side of the "door". Unfortunately, when he opened it, a pile of pots, several brooms, and a human skeleton fell out.

"Ah…er…broom closet," the would-be archaeologist said awkwardly as he shoved several items back in, leaving a mop, two pots, and a ribcage behind. "Oh well, can't be right all the time."

Once he'd locked the left side, Syaoran quickly unlocked the right side, revealing a passageway out of the oubliette.

"Hmm…that's a new one," Fai giggled, following his guide out the door.

XxX


	3. Not What It Seems

(A/N) Dear Moro-moro-san…well, I feel sheepish. By the by, if anyone present hasn't read Moro-moro's Lighthouse's Tale, you should. It's beautifully heart wrenching. A-noni…haven't seen Labyrinth? Oh, dear gods! My friends, we have a Labyrinth virgin among us. Oh well, I suppose it speaks to the fact that you haven't seen it and still enjoy the story. But do yourself a favor and watch it sometime. It's cute and hilarious. Sekai Nerah, thank you for the support. This chapter took a bit longer than expected to write, but hopefully it's to everyone's liking. Was it fast enough for you, Moro-moro-san?

**The Center of the Labyrinth**

_Chapter 3:Not What It Seems_

"Tell me, witch, this plot of yours…it won't get Kurogane killed, will it?" Amaterasu asked the Dimensional Witch through Mokona's portal.

"This is not my_plot_ as you so crudely put it, Amaterasu," Yuko answered casually. "This is something that must happen. However, yes, there is always the chance that the two of them will die."

"Yuko, Mokona's scared," the white fuzz ball said sadly. They'd all been through so much lately, and now Fai and Kurogane had vanished. What new pains would they suffer before all was said and done?

"I know, little one," the witch said, showing a rare trace of compassion. "But you must stand back and let it happen. Those two cannot move forward unless they can get past this."

"But…what about Syaoran and Sakura?"

"Do not tell Syaoran anything if you can help it. Let the boy sleep. If luck holds out, Fai and Kurogane will be free of the nightmare before he wakes."

"You and Tomoyo keep calling it a nightmare. What do you mean by that?"

"That's what it is," Tomoyo started to explain. "The world they have gone to was created purely from the dreams and nightmares of both Fai and Kurogane. Some of the nightmare belongs to Kurogane and that will become evident later on, but most of the nightmare comes from Fai. If he wishes to see the dream through, then Fai must defeat his nightmares."

"So…none of this is really happening?"

"Oh, no. It's really happening," Yuko assured her. "The place where they are trapped now is not unlike the world in which Sakura is. The only difference is that they are taken body and soul. If Fai cannot defeat the labyrinth then his soul will fade into shadow."

"And…what will become of Kurogane if this should happen?" Amaterasu asked, throwing a concerned glance at her little sister.

Tomoyo returned her gaze with a sad smile. "Kurogane will not leave him. I know that now. I was hoping that it wouldn't have to be so, but if Fai falls, I believe that Kurogane will follow him into the darkness. He will remain trapped in the nightmare…forever."

"You knew this?"

Tomoyo nodded. "I did. But I want Kurogane to be happy. If Fai will make him happy, then I will give him up. He survived the death of his parents and the loss of his home. He would survive permanent exile from Nihon. But Kurogane would not long survive losing Fai. If I have anything to say about it, nothing will part them."

The Empress of Nihon placed a hand on her sister's shoulder. Normally, she would not have made such an open gesture of comfort, but they were alone with Mokona and Yuko. She did not know what all was between Kurogane and the mage, but if Tomoyo was willing to risk letting them go on this dangerous quest, then what_ was_ between them must be powerful indeed

"Noble of you, Tomoyo," Yuko said, quietly interrupting the moment. "Perhaps your prayers really _will_ see them through."

The young princess-priestess turned a brave smile up towards the Time-Space Witch. "Kurogane is my greatest protector and a dear friend. This promise is all I have left to give him."

XxX

"Don't go on!"

"Go back while you still can!"

"This is not the way!"

"Take heed and go no farther!"

"Beware! Beware!"

"Soon it will be too late!"

"Whoo," Fai fake whistled as he glanced at the stone faces set into the walls of the cavern. Each one growled a warning as he and Syaoran passed by. "Somebody's loud and opinionated."

"Pfft! Don't pay any attention to them," Syaoran tutted dismissively. "They're just false alarms. You get a lot of them in the labyrinth. _Especially_ when you're on the right track."

"Oh no, you're not!" another stone face interrupted.

"Just shut up!"

"Sorry, just doing my job!" the stone face grumbled.

"Well, you don't have to do it to _us_!" Syaoran replied irritably.

"Beware, for-" the next stone face down the line began in a booming voice.

"Just…forget it!" Syaoran interrupted.

"Aw, please!" the stone face whined. "I haven't said it for such a long time."

"Oh, all right!" Syaoran rolled his eyes. "But don't expect a big reaction."

"No, no, no. Of course not," the stone face reassured them before clearing it's throat. Then it continued in an overly grim voice, "For the path you will take will lead to _certain destruction_!"

"Thank you very much," it added as an afterthought.

"Bravo!" Fai said, applauding the stone face. "Bellissima!"

Syaoran was about to make a snide remark to the overenthusiastic wizard when he noticed that the wind had picked up in the cavern. Without explanation, the young man grabbed Fai's wrist and hastily started leading him away, even as the cavern of stone faces vanished around them.

"What's going on?"

"Trouble."

"Really?" Fai asked curiously. Normally, he was more alert, but not being able to sense magic had slackened the mage's perceptions more than he'd realized. Had he been able to sense anything, he would have sensed the arrival of some extremely powerful magic.

Syaoran stopped short when the tunnel reformed around them and they found themselves standing before a crippled beggar. The decrepit thing was sitting against the wall of the tunnel, wrapped in tattered gray cloth.

"What have we here?" the beggar asked in a withered voice.

"Um…nothing," Syaoran answered hurriedly, standing in front of Fai as if to hide him from sight.

"Nothing?" the beggar demanded, jumping to his feet. "Nothing?" The cloak was whipped off and the figure straightened, becoming Ashura the Goblin King in one fluid motion. "Nothing, tra-la-la?"

"Your majesty," Syaoran said nervously, bowing low. "What a nice surprise."

"Hello, Chow mein," Ashura said with a smile like arsenic.

"Shaolin," Fai corrected incorrectly.

"Syaoran," the boy corrected indignantly, giving Fai a very sour look.

"Syaoran…can it be that you're helping this man?" Ashura queried as he paced slowly in front of them.

"H- helping? In what sense?" Syaoran tried to sidestep the question.

"In the sense that you're leading him towards the castle," Ashura supplied, taking several threatening steps forward.

"No, your majesty," Syaoran rushed to reassure him. "I was taking him back to the beginning."

Fai remained silent. He knew that he should probably feel betrayed and angry right now, but something about this whole thing didn't smell right. So he decided to just sit back and let the moment happen.

"I told him I was going to help him solve the labyrinth, A little trickery on my part," Syaoran explained. "An-"

"What is that silver thing behind your ear?"

Syaoran's face visibly paled. He stepped back from Ashura, tried several times to speak, and failed miserably.

"Charisse-"

"Syaoran."

"Yes. If I thought for one second that you would betray me, I'd be forced to suspend you head first in the Bog of Eternal Stench."

"No! Your majesty!" Syaoran was suddenly a weeping mess at Ashura's feet. "Not the Eternal Stench!"

"Oh, yes!" Ashura said, derisively kicking the boy aside and moving past him as if he did not exist. He moved towards Fai.

"And you, Fai…how are you enjoying my labyrinth?"

"It's a piece of cake," Fai said bravely, though the fact that he was taking slow steps backwards from the king said other things about what he was feeling at that moment.

"You know, it's wonderful that you have such confidence in yourself. No one else thinks you can pull it off. Kurogane doesn't think you can pull it off."

"I don't believe that," Fai said, his backwards retreat coming to a sudden halt.

"That's unfortunate, because it's true. He said that you should get out…that you're too weak to save anyone. He said you can't go five minutes without needing to be rescued."

"Kuro-wan…didn't say that," Fai hesitated, suddenly less sure of himself.

"What do you think of that? Kurogane says he doesn't need you."

_He doesn't want you. He never did. You're nothing but a thorn in his side,_ Ashura's voice suddenly sounded in his head. Darkness closed in around him and Fai trembled as the words washed over him. It was not as if he had never thought these things before. What scared him was how true the words rang in his soul when Ashura spoke them.

_You were right in the first place. You are unwanted. No one cares for you…not even he whom you care about the most._

It briefly occurred to Fai that there was magic at work here, but he was already too far gone to care or even do anything about it. He didn't realize it, but Ashura literally had him pinned to the wall.

_You're all alone, crawling in the dark, stumbling blindly through an endless maze…all to rescue someone who doesn't think you're worth the sweat it takes to pick you up when you fall. _

Fai's fingers scrabbled against the wall, desperately seeking something to hold on to. It wasn't true…was it? He didn't have time to ponder it further because at that moment, a sharp pain lanced through his right shoulder. He jerked his head backwards, slamming it into the wall. This, combined with the pain in his shoulder, helped to snap him out of the trance. Fai glanced down at his shoulder and saw a dagger sticking out of it. Blood leaked out of the wound and dripped slowly down the weapon's silver hilt. Fai's gaze turned slowly back towards Ashura, uncomprehending.

"Mm, sorry about that, little wizard, but I had a point to prove. You see, there's something about my gift that you didn't understand." Once again, the black staff appeared in Ashura's hands. "This is a special staff. Did you know that this staff will allow you to use magic without the barriers consuming your mind? Do you want it?" he asked yet again.

"No," Fai answered weakly, a sharp cry escaping his lips as Ashura grabbed the dagger and twisted it violently. Then he took Fai's hand and placed it on the staff, allowing him to feel the dark power coursing through it.

"You could use this to heal that wound…and fight your way through the labyrinth. Are you sure you don't want it?"

"I won't use it. It's the same magic that took Kuro-pon away."

"Very well," Ashura said, shaking his head sadly as he stepped away from Fai. "But the offer stands firm. If you ever decide to use the staff, it will be there for you to call upon."

Syaoran gulped nervously as the king ambled away from them.

"So the labyrinth's a piece of cake is it?" Ashura asked with his back still to them. "Well, let's see how you deal with this little slice." With that, Ashura threw the staff down the dark tunnel like a lance. A pinprick of light appeared in the darkness and the tunnel was suddenly filled with the horrid sound of twisting, screeching metal. As Ashura faded from sight, a hideous machine covered with gears, corkscrews, blades, and several other nameless, pointy, metal objects came trundling out of the darkness.

"Oh, no! The cleaners!" Syaoran shouted in terror, quickly turning tail and bolting the other way. Fai followed, a bit slower than usual due to the mangled mess his shoulder was in.

Fai took a quick glance up ahead and worriedly noted that a locked gate was blocking their path.

"The cleaners! The Bog of Stench! You _sure_ got his attention!" Syaoran shouted angrily as he slammed his body into the sealed gate. As Fai struggled up behind him, the mage noticed something that his supposed guide hadn't. There was another exit just to the right of the gate. He quickly pointed this out to the boy and they immediately set about knocking it down. The hybrid machine was fast bearing down on them.

Syaoran delivered several well-placed kicks to the door and Fai leaned into it with his left shoulder, putting all of his strength into it. Now was a time when he was unhappy to be without his vampire blood. As a vampire, he had reserves of untapped strength, but now he was back to his human limitations.

With one final kick, the door collapsed inwards, Fai and Syaoran falling with it, just as the cleaner tore past them, easily ripping apart the locked gate in it's path as it trundled along on it's merry way.

Fai gave a small scream as he pulled himself to his feet, the dagger twisting painfully in the muscle of his shoulder. Syaoran also climbed to his feet and dusted himself off, glancing at what lay in front of them.

"Ah, this is what we need," he said happily as he moved towards a rickety old ladder set against the side of the tunnel. "A ladder. Err…" he stopped, glancing back at the injured wizard. "Can you do this with just one arm? Maybe you should consider Ashura's offer-"

"No!" Fai interrupted harshly. "I won't do it! That staff is _his_ magic."

"That's not a good enough reason. You can't climb all that way with just one arm and bandaging it won't give you back the use of it. You need to consider your priorities here. Do you want to rescue your ninja friend, or don't you?"

Fai gave the young man a hard stare. There was no trace of the coward that Syaoran had presented to Ashura. There were so many secrets in this place. What was really going on here? There was also the fact that Syaoran was right. He would have to address this wound eventually if he wanted to save Kurogane. Even if he released his shield and tried to use his own magic, he knew it wouldn't work. He was incapable of performing healing spells. But…Ashura had said that the staff could heal him. Maybe if he…no! The staff came from Ashura. Wasn't it evil?

"All right. Fine," Fai surrendered. "But just this once." In the single instant between the lowering of his shields and the summoning of the staff, Fai could feel the buzz of the barriers begin to break into his mind. But the instant the dark staff was resting securely in his outstretched hand, the noise stopped. Even as the weakened magician held the dark crystal of the staff up to his wound, he could feel dark magic spreading through him. He trembled with fear as he felt the power reach for his heart. The instant the dagger clattered away and the wound was healed, Fai dropped the staff and it vanished. He quickly pulled his shields back around him like a blanket, shivering and rubbing his arms, trying to get rid of the feeling of darkness in his body.

"Never again," he muttered to himself.

"Better. Now come on, follow me," Syaoran said as he started on his way up the ladder.

"So tell me, Syaoran-kun, what exactly is your game? You're leading me to the beginning, you're helping me find the castle, you're leading me back to the beginning _again_. What's your real role in all of this?" Fai asked, easily following behind now that his shoulder was healed.

"I _wasn't_! I just told him I was taking you back to the beginning to get him off the scent. You've got to understand _my_ position. _I'm_ a coward, and _Ashura_ scares me."

"No, you're not. It's easy to see that you're here for some purpose other than to be his flunky. Why are you here?"

"That's really none of your business, now is it? Either way, you wouldn't be very brave either if you'd ever smelled the Bog of Eternal Stench."

"Is that all it does? Smell?" Fai asked derisively.

"Believe me, that's enough. But the worst part is, if you so much as put one foot in the Bog of Stench, you'll smell bad for the rest of your life. It'll never wash off."

In comparison to some of the things he'd experienced, eternal stench didn't seem so bad to Fai, but then again, as far as he knew, most people never experienced the horrors that he had witnessed. If eternal stench was the worst a person had to deal with…heh, lucky them.

"All right," he suddenly heard Syaoran's voice from somewhere above him as light spilled down into the dark cavern. "You're on your own from now on."

"What?" Fai shouted indignantly as he followed Syaoran out of the opening. The two of them tumbled out of a giant pot and onto hard stone ground.

"That's it. I quit!" Syaoran griped as he got to his feet.

"Wait a minute!" Fai shouted, quickly following after the fast-leaving Syaoran.

"I said I didn't promise anything. I _said_ I'd take you as far as I could go," Syaoran said, sounding very self-satisfied.

"You little cheat! You nasty little cheat!"

"Now, don't try to embarrass me. I've got no pride."

"Oh, yeah?" Fai asked just as he snatched the pouch of feathers from Syaoran's belt and danced playfully away from him.

"Hey! My feathers! Give them back! Give those _back_!" Syaoran shouted, chasing after the magician and aiming what would have been several devastating kicks in his direction.

"I don't think so," Fai teased, easily dodging the boy's attacks and dangling the pouch just out of his reach. Syaoran eventually tired himself out and Fai could safely turn his attention towards the castle, which either was or was not actually there, depending on the whims of the labyrinth, "Now…there is the castle. Which way should we try?"

"Those feathers belong to me! It's not fair!" Syaoran shouted petulantly.

"No, it isn't," Fai returned with a pleasant smile. "But that's the way it is."

At that very moment, a sight that put the KaFuSeibaru from before in second place for the "oddest thing ever seen by Fai D. Fluorite" contest chose to hobble onto the scene. An ancient woman draped in tattered black robes ambled into the clearing where the two combatants stood. This, in and of itself, would not have been strange were it not for the fact that the woman was a much older version of Yuko who happened to be wearing a human head, who bore an uncanny resemblance to her apprentice, Watanuki, as a hat. The old creature was moaning and she had a dazed look on her face as she sat down on a pile of rocks.

"Excuse me," Fai called out to the oddity. "Can you help me?"

"Huh?" the woman started, raising her head. "Oh. A young man."

The Watanuki hat raised an eyebrow; surprised that someone was actually speaking to the hung over woman.

"Who's that?" she asked gruffly, inclining her head towards Syaoran.

"My friend," Fai answered quickly. "I need to get to the castle at the center of the labyrinth. Do you know the way?"

"Mm…you want to get…to the castle," Yuko muttered stupidly.

"How's that for brain power?" Watanuki sniped.

"Be quiet!" Yuko shouted. "So…young man, the way forward is sometimes the way_back_."

"Ach! Will you listen to this crap?" Watanuki interrupted snidely. Fai hid a smile behind his hand. Syaoran just rolled his eyes.

"Will you please _be quiet_!"

"All right."

"Okay?"

"Okay."

"You finished?"

Watanuki paused a few moments before answering. "Yes."

Yuko rolled her own eyes and turned her attention back to Fai. "Quite often, it _seems_ like we're not getting anywhere, when in fact-"

"We are," Watanuki interrupted.

"We are," the ancient woman finished, throwing a death glare up at her hat.

"Well, I certainly don't seem to be getting anywhere at the moment," Fai said, a trace of nerves entering his smile as he glanced around the clearing.

"Heh! Join the club!" Watanuki said angrily.

Fai waited for Yuko to say more, but then he noticed that she had fallen asleep.

"And I think that's your lot. Please place a contribution in the little box," Watanuki said, inclining…himself towards the small box clutched tightly in Yuko's hand. Fai thought about it, and realized that he really didn't have anything of value on him that would _fit_ in that box.

"I don't really-"

"Meh, no need to repeat the prose. A few strands of your hair will do."

Fai gave the head hat an odd glance as he plucked out several strands of his golden hair and dropped them into the box. What had that first thing meant?

"Why'd you have to go and do a thing like that?" Syaoran asked as the two walked away, choosing a random path out of the clearing. "She didn't tell you anything."

"It's just hair, Syaoran-kun."

"Well, there go a couple of suckers," Watanuki said to himself once the two were out of earshot. Then he glanced down at his snoozing owner. "It's so stimulating being your hat."

XxX

"Bastard!" Kurogane hissed the second Ashura reappeared in his throne room.

"What have I done this time? What's got the little swordsman all riled up?"

"You lied to him. I never said the mage was worthless."

"Maybe not, but you did say that you wanted him to leave."

"You're twisting what I said. I wanted him to leave so that _you_ wouldn't get to him."

"Aww, isn't that sweet. Unfortunately, the purpose of this little game _is_ to get to him…by any means necessary."

"What do you want with him?" Kurogane asked angrily.

"It's not what _I_ want with him. It's what little Fai wants for himself, and whether or not he is strong enough to seize it."

"What do you mean? All of this is just…to test him?"

"Mm, something like that. But he's not the only one. Before you leave this place, assuming that you _do_, you will face your own worst fear."

_My own worst fear_, Kurogane pondered to himself. He knew what that was. His worst fear was that he would be unable to protect the people he cared about. Did it mean…that he wouldn't be able to protect Fai? From what? From Ashura? The labyrinth? From…this nightmare everyone kept talking about?

_Damn you, mage! How could you believe such garbage? I thought you __**knew**__ that I cared about you._ _After everything that's happened…how could you possibly think anything else?_ Kurogane's thoughts raced as he gazed at the mirror that held Fai's image. The mage was wandering through one of the labyrinth's many pathways, seemingly talking to himself. Syaoran-that-wasn't had long since vanished. Had the idiot magician not noticed?

"I'm _not_ losing him," Kurogane said stolidly to the wicked Goblin King. "I've worked too hard to keep him alive." _He was just starting to want to live again. If I lose him now…_

"My dear Kurogane, there's really very little that you can do about it if he fails to solve the labyrinth. Did you forget that you're trapped here with no way out?"

"I don't care. I'll break out of here and rescue _him_ if it comes to that."

Ashura sneered wickedly at this. "You are strong, little ninja…but I will break you…both of you."

Kurogane gave the king a hard stare, daring him to try it. The king dared.

This time the pain hit him like a giant wave, knocking the wind out of him. He might have cried out had he been unready like last time. But this time, he was prepared. He kept control of himself as the sensation ravished him, setting his nerves on fire and boiling his blood. Pain tore through his body, destroying everything that stood against it. He clenched his teeth together in order to prevent sound escaping his mouth. He wrapped his arms around himself, digging his fingernails into his own flesh until he drew blood. The ninja dropped weakly to his back, writhing in agony, but still not permitting himself the luxury of a scream.

Ashura's face soured slightly at the swordsman's high level of control. "Next time," he whispered. "I will not hold back."

Kurogane heard these words, but no longer possessed enough sense to wrap his mind around them. As Ashura released the spell, Kurogane released his hold on consciousness, slipping gratefully into the darkness of sleep.

XxX

Fai had been speaking to empty air for quite some time before he realized that Syaoran was not there anymore. He briefly wondered where the boy had got to, but he had very little time to think about it because the silence of the labyrinth was suddenly broken by the horrific roar of some tormented beast.

The wizard stopped in his tracks, briefly wondering if it would be dangerous to his health to seek out the source of the raging growls. But then he remembered what Tomoyo-wyrm had said about things not always being what they seemed. Perhaps the source of the growling was the miracle he was looking for.

He looked cautiously around the next corner and saw a giant beast hanging upside down from a tree. Thick horns protruded from it's head and it was covered in long, red fur. Three of it's limbs were bound by thick rope, but it had managed to get one arm free and was swinging it at it's tormentors. Three of Ashura's shadow goblins were attacking the creature. As they launched themselves at it, teeth and claws would take shape out of the formless masses, tearing into the poor thing. It howled in rage and pain.

Suddenly, the beast seemed to notice Fai. It made eye contact with him, silently telling him what it needed.

"If only I had something to throw," Fai mumbled to himself, glancing around.

The creature gave another howl. Had Fai had the use of his powers, he would have felt how steeped in magic this new sound was. At the creature's call, a loose rock rolled towards Fai, bumping gently into his boot. The magician quickly snatched up the new weapon and lobbed it at the nearest shadow. Unfortunately, the rock passed harmlessly through it. All three demons turned on him.

"Oh-" Fai let fly a few choice Celesian expletives. He'd been afraid that might happen.

"Can't we talk about this?" he asked with a nervous smile as the three goblins moved in on him. Gods, he didn't want to use the staff, but…these creatures didn't have physical bodies! What else would work against them but magic? Maybe…he wouldn't even have to use the staff. Maybe just the sight of it would do the trick.

As he'd done before, Fai lowered his shields and summoned the staff. The second the fearsome thing appeared in his hand, he began to feel it's power reaching into his soul, attempting to claim him. However, the desperate ploy had accomplished what he wanted. At the sight of the dark staff, the shadow goblins retreated, vanishing into thin air with heinous shrieks. Fai quickly banished the wicked thing, pulling back the shields as he dropped to his knees. He'd had the damn thing out even less time than before, and yet it had still managed to penetrate deeper into his spirit. He was cold…cold in a way that no physical thing could warm. Cold as he had not been since…Valeria. The stricken wizard wrapped his arms around himself, trying in vain to melt the ice that was forming in his heart.

Just then, a desperate roar alerted him to the reason why he'd originally pulled out the staff. Fai glanced up and saw the red-furred beast struggling against it's bonds. Slowly he rose to his feet, still trembling with cold, and made his way towards the creature.

"Now, stop that!" Fai admonished the howling beast. "Is that anyway to treat someone who's trying to help you? Don't you want me to help you get down?" he asked, tilting his own head slightly upside down so he could look the thing in the eyes.

"Sakura…down…" the beast said slowly in a very gruff voice.

"Sakura?" Fai asked, momentarily shocked. Obviously, this was not the Sakura he was familiar with, but still…"Is that your name?"

"Sakura…" the creature groaned.

"You seem like such a nice beast," Fai said, giving the Sakura-beast a scratch on the chin. "I certainly hope you are what you seem to be."

Fai hurried quickly towards the rope that held the poor creature dangling from the tree and began working at the knots. "Just hang on. I'll get you down. Just a second." Finally, he managed to undo the thick rope. Unfortunately, with the rope gone, there was nothing to hold Sakura up any more and she went crashing to the stone ground, landing painfully on her back.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Fai cried out, rushing over to the fallen beast and helping her to stand. "I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. Are you hurt?"

Sakura easily shook herself off, then slowly turned her great, shaggy head towards Fai. The magician was pleased to note that she had the same brilliant green eyes as the Sakura he knew.

"Friend?" she asked slowly.

"That's right, Sakura-chan. I'm Fai."

"Fai-san! Fai-san friend!" the Sakura-creature cried joyfully.

"Hold on a moment," Fai interrupted before she had a chance to crush him in a bear hug. "I need to ask you something. I have to get to the castle at the center of the labyrinth. Do you know the way?"

Sakura thought very hard about this. She scratched her head thoughtfully, but eventually was forced to admit defeat. She stared at Fai with huge, sad, green eyes. "No."

"You don't know either, huh?" Fai sighed. "I wonder if _anyone _knows how to get through this labyrinth. Hey, wait a second," he started, suddenly noticing a wall that had been a hedge grow only a few moments ago. Two large wooden doors were set into the stone wall and they both had giant silver knockers on them.

"Where did they come from?" he pondered aloud. As he looked even closer, Fai realized that the two knockers looked exactly like Sorata and Arashi. Arashi had a knocker ring set through her ears and Sorata had one set firmly in his mouth.

"What do you think, Sakura-chan? Which should we choose out of these two ugly characters?"

As the companions examined Arashi's door more closely, she suddenly came alive, shouting, "It's very rude to stare!"

Both Fai and Sakura jumped back in surprise. "Oh…I'm sorry. I was just wondering which door to choose."

"What?" Arashi-knocker shouted.

"Ids no gawd aszkan er, se's a-" Sorata-knocker attempted to speak through the ring in his mouth.

"Don't talk with your mouth full!" Arashi shouted.

"I awn hawlkin ith eye outh ull!" Sorata garbled angrily.

"Just a second. I can't understand you," Fai said, moving towards Sorata and gently removing the ring from his mouth.

"What were you saying?" Arashi shouted at Fai.

"Aww," Sorata half-moaned with relief as he moved his stiff mouth in all directions. "It feels so _good_ to have that thing out."

"What were you saying?" Fai asked.

"I said, 'it's no good talking to her. She's deaf as a post!'"

"Mumble, mumble, mumble. You're a wonderful conversation companion," Arashi griped.

"You can talk! All you do is moan!" Sorata shot back.

"No good. Can't hear you."

Sorata just sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Where do these doors lead?" Fai asked, almost hating to break in on the domestic bliss of the two doorknockers.

"What?" Arashi shouted.

"Search me. We're just the knockers," Sorata answered with a gleeful chuckle.

"How do we get through?" he asked, pushing at Sorata's door.

"Huh?"

"Knock…and the door will open," Sorata said grandly.

Fai looked around, searching for the place where he'd dropped Sorata's ring, only to find that Sakura had set it firmly in her own mouth.

"Sakura-chan," Fai sighed laughingly as he pulled the ring out of her mouth. Then he moved towards Sorata-knocker.

"I don't want that thing back in my mouth!" Sorata half-screamed.

"Come on. I want to knock," Fai insisted.

"Doesn't want his ring back in his mouth, eh? Can't say I blame him," Arashi-knocker said loudly.

Sorata-knocker held his mouth firmly shut. He would do it for all eternity if he had to. Or at least he would have if Fai hadn't gotten a brilliant idea at that exact moment and seized his nose. Sorata held fast for a few minutes longer than any human would have been able to, but he eventually had to open his mouth for air and Fai took the opportunity to shove the ring back into his mouth and knock.

"Sorry," Fai apologized as he and Sakura moved through the now open door.

"A's alligh. A'm uss u it," Sorata grumbled before his door vanished entirely.

Fai slowly glanced around at their new surroundings. Wherever they were, it sure didn't look like the labyrinth anymore. The place looked more like an ancient swamp. Stunted trees sprouted up from the mossy ground and puddles of stagnant water lay everywhere. There was hardly any light and the air was thick and still, reeking of decaying foliage. It had an ominous, prison-like feel to it. Certainly not like any forest or swamp Fai had ever seen.

"Sakura scared," Sakura moaned, trying to make herself as small as possible as she walked behind Fai. No easy task.

"Aww," Fai said gently, petting Sakura's shoulder comfortingly as they moved through the swampy terrain. "Imagine, a big thing like you being scared."

Sakura nodded meekly as Fai moved ahead of her.

"See, Sakura-chan? There's nothing to be afraid of."

When Fai didn't get a response, he spun around, only to find that Sakura had vanished into thin air. What he didn't realize was that while he'd been scouting for danger, Sakura had fallen into a conveniently placed pit that led to who-knew-where.

"Sakura-chan? Sakura-chan?" Fai cried out fearfully. "Sakura-chan, where are you?!"

XxX

"_Sakura-chan!_" Syaoran heard Fai's voice cry out in the distance. He felt a painful twist of guilt in his stomach for having abandoned the mage, especially after he had called him a friend. Syaoran felt guilt so rarely that the intensity of it shocked him. Of course he wanted to help Fai, but he had other things to do. He could not forget his other promise.

"_Syaoran-kun! Help!_" That did it.

"I'm coming, Fai-san!" But no sooner had Syaoran turned on his heels to go and help his new friend than the fearsome king of the goblins appeared before him.

"Well," Ashura began, swaggering dangerously towards the boy. "If it isn't you. And…uh…where…are you…going?" he asked slowly.

"Er…uh…well, the wizard gave me the slip. I heard him just now. So I was on my way to lead him back to the beginning…just like you told me," Syaoran answered, taking a few nervous steps backwards.

"I see. For one moment, I thought you were running to help him. But…no. Not after my warnings. Now that would be stupid."

"Oh, you bet it would. Me? Help him? After your warnings?" Syaoran let fly several fake guffaws that were obviously laced with terror for the king's benefit. Ashura was well aware that Syaoran did not truly fear him. What the boy _did_ fear was what he could do to his lost friend.

"Oh, dear. Poor Showly," he started, getting right up in the boy's face.

"Syaoran," he corrected meekly.

"I've just noticed your lovely feathers are missing. Not good. You never know which feather might be the right one."

Syaoran's face paled for a split second before he glanced down at his belt, as if noticing this fact for the first time.

"Oh, yes. So they are. My lovely feathers…gotta find them. But first, I'm off to take the wizard back to the beginning of the labyrinth…just like we planned," he said as he turned to go.

"Wait!" Ashura called after him. "I've got a much better plan, Xiao-mei. Give him this."

Ashura tossed something orange at the boy. He easily caught it and glanced down at the thing, realizing that it was a peach.

"Wh-what is it?" he asked nervously.

"It's a present…of sorts."

"It…won't hurt the magician, will it?" he asked, feeling even sicker with guilt. He already knew the answer.

"Why the concern?"

"I don't want to harm him."

"Oh, come now, Charlotte. Have you forgotten about Sakura?"

"No!" Syaoran shouted vehemently. "I haven't forgotten. He just…he said we were-"

"What? Bosom companions? Friends?" Ashura asked icily.

Syaoran just sighed. "It doesn't matter."

"You'll give him that, Syaoran, or I'll tip you straight into the Bog of Eternal Stench before you can blink!" he said, seizing his servant roughly by the ear and giving him a good shake. Once he released him, Syaoran quickly started to move away from him.

"Oh, and Syaoran," Ashura shouted one last warning. "If he ever hugs you, I'll turn you into a prince."

"Y- you will?" Syaoran asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ashura nodded wickedly. "Prince of the land of Stench!"

XxX


	4. Through Dangers Untold

(A/N) Jeri, Moro-moro, .x.morgane.x., and eldarsevenstar, thank you all much for your lurvely reviews. Most people seem to like the "tra-la-la" bit the best.

Interesting thing, I was rereading chapter 130 the other night, y'know, the one where Fai calls Kurogane by his name for the first time. I hadn't noticed it the first time through, but the expression on Kurogane's face afterwards…my gods. He knew going into the whole bait thing that Fai would most likely not forgive him for saving his life, but it was like that moment when Fai took that first step back from him was when it really hit him. I don't think I've ever seen poor Kuro-rin look so hurt. Maybe it's me, but he just seemed really open and vulnerable in that moment. That look on his face made me effing weep. And I assure you, that's no easy task. I swear, I sat there and bawled like a little baby.

Well, now that I've got that off my chest, let's see if we can find something to like about this new chapter. I should also warn y'all, I made up my mind about the whole yaoi thing. This is the chapter where things start heating up. Hey, the story's rated M for a reason.

**The Center Of The Labyrinth**

_Chapter 4: Through Dangers Untold_

For the longest time, he knew nothing. When he finally did become aware, the only thing to be aware of was an endless sea of darkness. At first, it was a peaceful darkness, but before long, swatches of memory began to return to him. He was Kurogane, heir to the lost province of Suwa, ninja of Shirasagi Castle, servant to Tomoyo-hime. He had been traveling worlds for several months. Syaoran, Sakura-hime, and…the blasted mage were his traveling companions. They were being led, if you could call it that, by a white manjuu bun given to them by the Time-Space Bitch. He'd been kidnapped by some deranged king of the goblins and…the mage was out there somewhere…and he was not alone in this darkness.

Kurogane spun wildly around, trying to locate the source of what it was that he felt, without much success.

"Show yourself!" Kurogane challenged angrily. He had been toyed with enough for one day and he had had his fill of it. Besides, something about this darkness was disorienting, preventing him from getting a lock on whatever it was that he was sensing.

"Enough!" he shouted, drawing Sohi and plunging it into a shape that suddenly materialized out of the darkness behind him. When the darkness finally receded, the mighty ninja was stricken with horror.

"M-mage?" he whispered disbelievingly. His blade was buried deep in Fai's chest. For a moment he stared, uncomprehending, at the dark bloom of blood that was staining his pure, white jacket. But then, he turned his face up towards Kurogane's, giving him the most honest, open smile he'd ever given anyone.

"I…I came…t- to save you," he said softly, blood starting to leak from his mouth. "Kuro-koi."

"Please, don't talk," he said, keeping his voice level though his heart was breaking at the sound of the weakness in the wizard's voice. "It's sapping all your strength." He knew it wouldn't make a difference. The wound was fatal. Fai was dying.

_What have I done?_

"I'm…sorry…for everything," Fai rasped as Kurogane lowered him to the floor. He tried to reach a hand up to touch the swordsman's face but it fell limply back at his side.

"Don't talk like that…Fai," he said, trying to be gentle with the dying man. "There's nothing to apologize for."

"It's…c-cold," the magician whispered, though he was still wrapped in his heavy coat. Kurogane held his body even closer, being careful of Sohi; the blade he knew he could never use again…the hated thing that had turned him into the instrument of Fai's death.

"Are you…holding me?" Fai asked, sounding surprised.

"It'll be over soon," he whispered soothingly, pressing his cheek against Fai's. He was trying to be strong, trying to ease his passing, but inside he was screaming, trying to deny that his better half was dying.

_You can't leave me! Not now!_

Fai's eyes, which had been so unfocused, seemed to clear and brighten for a brief instant; as if he'd heard Kurogane's thoughts and taken comfort from them.

"Kurogane," he struggled to whisper. "I…I just…wanted…to te-" But it was no use. The light left Fai's eyes and his head fell back as his spirit silently passed from his body.

"No!" Kurogane cried out weakly. He wanted so badly to weep for the man who had his heart. For the first time in a long while, he actually _wanted_ to cry, but the tears just wouldn't come. This grief was too huge, too horrible, to be released through mere tears. He hugged Fai's still body to him, burying his face in the mage's golden hair. He wasn't ready to let go yet. "Fai. Fai," he whispered over and over again in the magician's cold ear, as if he could not say his name enough for all the times in life when he hadn't.

Fai was dead. Fai was dead…and he'd killed him.

_Please…forgive me for what I've done to you._

"I see your mind," a cold voice suddenly sounded out of the darkness.

"Ashura," Kurogane hissed, clutching Fai's body tighter still.

"You convinced yourself that the one thing you truly feared was being unable to protect the people you care about. But that wasn't it, was it?" he taunted.

"Leave me alone," he said, his voice betraying none of his pain. "Leave us alone." He wanted to be angry at Ashura, to blame him for starting this ridiculous game that left Fai dead in his arms, but he couldn't. There was no one to blame for this but himself.

"You were afraid that you wouldn't be able to protect them from yourself, weren't you? That has been the secret fear in your heart ever since Tomoyo woke you from your battle haze all those years ago…that the beast within you would one day be unleashed once more. Well, that day has come at last. You unleashed your anger…and this is the result. You've killed the one you care about the most because you couldn't control it."

"NO!" he screamed, burying his face in Fai's chest, as if to block out the terrible nightmare. He could smell and taste Fai's blood as it flowed from the wound. It was still warm.

"FAI! FORGIVE ME!" he begged. But even as the cry left his mouth, the ninja awoke from the nightmare. He found himself lying on his back, still trapped in Ashura's magic cage. He was shaking and his body was wet with sweat. He breathed a sigh of relief as he sat up. He hadn't just murdered Fai. It was only a nightmare.

"Forgive you? Forgive you for what, little ninja?"

Kurogane glanced around, not surprised to find his tormentor languishing in his usual spot upon his throne, his smile bearing a striking resemblance to a snake.

"What kind of sick joke do you call that?" Kurogane asked, stone-faced.

"No joke. I've said this before, you may remember, you will face your darkest fears in the labyrinth. That was merely the first stage. And of course, your friend is actually out in the labyrinth. He will face much worse."

"What are you going to do to him?"

"No more than I've done to you. Only, for little Fai, there may not be any waking up."

Kurogane did not give Ashura the anger he knew the king would have liked to see. He was still too shocked by what his anger had done in the nightmare. He stared at the mirror at the end of the great hall, relieved beyond anything to see Fai alive. He watched the wizard move slowly through a swamp, wondering what kind of sick little game Ashura had in store for him. Fai didn't need this now. After everything that had happened, he was still…fragile. Could he handle Ashura's mind games?

XxX

"Sakura-chan!" Fai wasn't certain exactly how long he'd been wandering the swamp, searching for his newfound furry friend. The two things he did know were that his throat was growing hoarse from shouting and he could hardly keep his eyes open, he was so tired. As he kept moving, the dank smell of the swamp slowly became something sweet, like the smell of roses. He vaguely recalled the first time he'd smelt roses. It was a long time ago…before everything, before the valley, even. There had been a garden in the palace where he'd been born. Many flowers grew there but he had always liked the roses best. Their scent was bold, yet sweet, and their rich, red color bespoke passion to his young soul, which, back then, had known nothing of such heat. He and Fai had often fallen asleep in those flowerbeds. Everyone said that it wasn't right for them to be there because the garden had belonged to their mother. But she had never been a part of them…not ever. They did not feel her in the garden. The flower garden had always felt safe to them.

Fai was so wrapped up in the memory that he barely noticed that he'd started to lie down on the mossy ground. The heaviness he'd felt in the air earlier seemed to have lifted. A gentle breeze was playing with his hair and it felt like he was lying down on a bed of clouds instead of a muddy patch of swamp. He was so lost in the magic of the labyrinth that he didn't even realize that he was being bespelled.

"I'll just rest for a few moments," he told himself even as a loud yawn escaped his mouth. "But I can't fall asleep. No…matter…" The mage's words drifted off as his eyelids drifted closed. He thought he could hear music coming from somewhere: a gentle lullaby. It had no words, but the melody was soothing and familiar to him, and before long, Fai was fast asleep.

And as he slept, he began to dream.

"_Surprise!" Fai's face suddenly appeared above his. He started, quickly sitting up from where he'd been lying in the rose bed._

"_What did ya do that for?" Yuui asked, more than a little irked at his twin._

"_I made this for you," he answered, holding up a wreath of tiny flowers as blue as the summer sky. Fai giggled as he placed the blue crown on his twin's head. "I like these the best. Sita says they're called forget-me-nots."_

_But the image of Fai's smiling face faded, twisting to become the rotting corpse from his nightmares, pointing an accusing finger at him. Only…the accusation he made was different_

"_You failed me, Yuui! And the sad part is that you don't even know why."_

_X_

_He was lying in Kurogane's arms. The ninja's face was buried in his chest. He could almost swear that the mighty swordsman was crying._

"_FAI! FORGIVE ME!" he screamed, his words muffled against the magician's chest._

_**Forgive him? Forgive him for what?**__ Fai wondered to himself. He tried to reach out a hand to Kurogane, but found that he couldn't make his body move. Why was Kuro-sama…so sad? His attention drifted down to his own chest and the pieces slowly began to fall into place. Sohi was sheathed in his heart._

_**But I'm not dead, Kuro-chi**__. He wanted so badly to comfort him, to speak those words to the warrior and take away his pain. But Fai couldn't make his mouth work, either. Maybe he really was dead._

_X_

Vines were sprouting up from the swampy earth, slowly starting to encase the mage in a coffin of foliage. Unfortunately, in his magic-induced dream, Fai was completely unaware of this.

_X_

_Kurogane was backed up against a wall. Fai was looking down on the scene and he could see himself moving towards his friend. He held Ashura's dark staff in his hands._

"_Wizard?" he whispered, fear evident in his voice as the maddened thing bore down upon him. His eyes were glowing red and fangs could be seen glistening in his mouth._

"_It's me! Kurogane! Don't you recognize me?" _

"_Don't bother," Ashura said to the ninja as he appeared out of thin air. "Your voice cannot reach the magician where he is. He belongs to me. Now," he said to the Fai creature. "Finish him."_

_The crazed mage dropped the staff and sprang forward, seizing Kurogane by the neck._

"_No…Please- don't…Fai!" he tried to choke out. "Stop…come back!"_

_But nothing helped. Fai no longer possessed reason. He just squeezed harder and harder…until the ninja's face turned blue and his head snapped back as his neck broke._

"_NOOO!" the incensed wizard screamed as his mind suddenly returned to him. _

_X_

_He was sitting, leaning against a cold, metal wall. Kurogane was kneeling next to him. Both of their hands were covered with blood. Fai was holding a machine that he recognized as a gun. He could feel hot tears sliding down his face as he turned to look at Kurogane._

"_Put a bullet to me," he begged, placing the black, metal thing against his temple. "Bullet in the brain. Bam! Squish!" he said in a singsong voice._

"_Don't say that," Kurogane said firmly as he took the gun from him and cradled his face in his hands. "Not ever."_

_X_

_Fai felt his face flush as Kurogane moved towards him. He would be lying if he said that he hadn't imagined this moment in his mind, but somehow, he hadn't imagined it happening like this. The ninja's eyes were empty of all but lust as he seized his shoulders._

"_Wait-" Fai tried to protest as a hot, demanding mouth took possession of his. Kurogane either did not hear or did not care. Fai felt both fear and desire building in his chest as Kurogane easily picked him up and laid him down, forcing a knee between his legs. A single touch and he was already throbbing, aching with need. _

"_No! P- please- stop!" He tried to fight, even as the swordsman pleasured him, causing his moans of desire to become louder than his protests._

"_Why? Isn't this what you want?"_

"_This isn't__**you**__, Kuro-pi," he insisted, trying to push the larger man off of him._

"_Of course it's me. I'll make you __**writhe**__ for me, mage!" he said roughly before thoroughly ravishing the wizard's mouth with his own. _

"_NO!" His scream was muffled by Kurogane's tongue. It wouldn't be long before he moved on to ravishing other areas. Fai could feel tears beginning to squeeze their way out of his eyes. He__** did**__ want this. He had wanted it for the longest time. But…he also wanted it to be real! Kurogane wasn't really with him right now. He cried softly even as his hips bucked up against the thing that wasn't Kurogane. The contact only served to fan his shameful desire even higher._

"_Your hips don't say no," the fake ninja whispered in a sultry tone that didn't sound one bit like him. Without warning, he violently began to grind himself against Fai's body, causing him to cry out in desire as well as fear. "Which should I believe?" he hissed in the magician's ear as he brought them both closer and closer to the edge. "Your words…or your hips?"_

_Fai was sobbing openly now. He couldn't help himself. He was weak…so weak. He wanted to tear himself away, but at the same time, was incapable of doing so. He screamed, just as much in ultimate pleasure as in agony and self-loathing, as Kurogane brought him to ecstasy._

"_That's so disgusting." He could suddenly hear the real Kurogane's voice._

_**NO!**__ He could hear his own voice screaming. __**DEAR GOD, NO! DON'T LET HIM SEE ME LIKE THIS!**_

_The scene was different. It was like he and Kurogane were up on a higher level, looking down on the explicit activities of the false Kurogane and his other self. Kurogane gave Fai a look of utmost revulsion as the fake him finally spilled it's salty essence all over the whimpering other Fai._

"_Just how long have you been having this sick little fantasy?"_

_Fai dropped to his knees before the ninja. "Please…Kuro-rin-"_

"_DON'T CALL ME THAT!" he roared._

"_I…I didn't…I never-"_

"_Never what? Thought I'd find out? You know, I really did care for you, but…to find out how you feel…like this…from such an indecent fantasy…"Kurogane shuddered. "I can't even look at you."_

"_It's not like that! I didn't want…I never meant to-" _

"_It doesn't matter anymore," Kurogane sighed bitterly and turned to walk away._

"_No!" Fai begged, wrapping his arms around the man's waist, anything to keep him from leaving. "Please don't go! I love you!"_

_**Stars in heaven, tell me I didn't just say that!**_

_Kurogane turned enraged eyes on him, wrenching his arms from his body and flinging him away in disgust._

"_You're weak, Fai! You're worthless! You're sick and disgusting! I can't believe I sacrificed so much for you!"_

_Then Fai could see the swordsman as he really was. Blood-soaked, with fresh blood still flowing from the gaping wound in his left shoulder. His remaining hand seized Fai's chin, forcing the mage to look him in the eye._

"_I owe you nothing…and you are nothing to me. You don't love __**me**__, Yuui. You just want someone to keep you warm at night when your memories of Valeria become too much to bear. You're pathetic. You're a filthy whore!"_

"_NO! That's not true!" Fai sobbed. "I…I do love you, Kuro-"_

"_STOP IT!" the ninja raged. Before Fai was even aware of what was happening, Kurogane had his hands around his neck. Cold fingers wrapped securely around his throat, methodically choking the life out of him._

"_Wait- Kuro…sto-" he struggled to breathe, but air couldn't get past those unyielding fingers._

_X_

The vines were covering his sleeping body, wrapping themselves around everything they could get at…around his limbs, his head, his neck. They were everywhere, slowly pulling him down to lie forever within the damp earth.

_X_

"_It was your fault that Sakura died," Ashura said as he circled him, like some beast toying with it's prey._

"_But…she's not dead," Fai tried to fight him off._

"_But it was still your fault. It's __**all**__ your fault. Everyone gets hurt. Your precious twin, Sakura, Ashura of Celes, the entire country of your birth…Kurogane. This is what happens to anyone who gets close to you…they all die in the end. But…what if you could escape all that?"_

_Fai looked up at the Goblin King. "What are you talking about?"_

_Ashura gave him a very suggestive look. "Don't stand there and tell me you didn't enjoy that sex with your little swordsman."_

_Fai recoiled at that. "It wasn't real. It was just sex. I…I want for Kuro-tan to love me…to really love me. I don't want an illusion. But…I don't have the right to love him. If he gets too close…he will die." The last words left his mouth as sobs._

"_You are, doubtless, aware that this is all just a dream. What if you simply remained in the dream? You could dream yourself into a world where you weren't cursed and you could have your ninja with you always. You'd never have to feel pain again."_

"_But it wouldn't really be him!"_

"_Maybe not, but you and I both know what will happen if you get too close to the real him. Do you see those graves there," Ashura said, gesturing to a graveyard behind him that Fai hadn't seen before. "Your parents', Fai's, the people of Celes who cared for you…you were the cause of all their deaths." Having said so, the king held out a piece of ripe, crimson fruit to him. The wizard recognized it as being a pomegranate. _

"_Partake of the forbidden fruit, little Fai. Come, take it from me. One bite and you will lose your pain forever. You never have to wake up." He held the fruit tantalizingly close to his face._

"_No! No!" Fai screamed. "It's not real!"_

"_Waking, sleeping? Reality, dreams? What differences do you see? You were not meant to be happy. Isn't it the least you can do to make sure that the one you love can be happy by removing yourself from his life? Can't you see that Kurogane would be so much better off if you were dead?"_

_Fai looked at the long line of graves that danced before him. So much death…_

_His eyes were suddenly drawn to the last grave in the line. It bore a name that sent his entire world collapsing to the ground._

_Kurogane._

"_NO!" The raw scream was torn painfully from his heart as he felt the fragile organ shatter within his chest. "YOU CAN'T TAKE KURO-SAMA AWAY!"_

_Once more, Ashura held the fruit out to him. The ripe skin had split open and the pomegranate was bleeding a juice as red as blood. Fai seized the fruit in his hand._

_X_

Tomoyo-hime was calling him, reaching out to him.

"Fai! Wake up!"

_X_

_Without hesitation, Fai bit into the bleeding fruit. At first, the taste was sweet, like the first gasp of air after a brush with death…but that didn't last long. The next instant, his mouth was filled with blood. It spilled down his throat, filling his lungs and driving away the air. Fai collapsed to the ground, choking on the blood and the bit of fruit. The world swirled around him until all he could see was the headstone bearing Kurogane's name. He didn't know how he knew, but he did, nonetheless. It was Kurogane's blood that he felt boiling in his lungs, drowning him. He wanted to scream, to deny it…but he had no air to scream._

_X_

It was Yuko-san calling to him this time.

"Wake up! Wake up, or all is lost!"

His body was almost completely lost in the deadly embrace of the vines. But before that last, fatal nightmare could begin, a new body burst onto the scene. Syaoran came running towards the choking vines, tearing them away and slowly freeing Fai from his coffin of dreams.

"Wake up, you fool! Wake up!" he shouted.

Fai suddenly started awake, screaming and clutching his throat. "I SHOULDN'T HAVE EATEN THE FRUIT!" His glance darted wildly from place to place, finally settling on Syaoran.

"Syaoran-kun!" he shouted, reaching out to hug the boy. But Syaoran just as quickly moved out of his reach, remembering Ashura's words.

"What kind of idiot are you? Falling asleep in the dream swamp."

"Is that…all it was? A bad dream?" Fai asked as he slowly drew his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them like a frightened child.

"It was so real," he mumbled, unwillingly remembering everything: the forget-me-nots, Sohi, the gun, the sound of Kurogane's neck breaking, the fruit, the grave…the feeling of the ninja's lips on his…

"Too real."

"Well, come on," Syaoran continued, holding out a hand to help Fai to his feet.

"Excuse me?"

"We can't stay here. You'll probably just fall asleep again. The next time the vines get a hold of you, I'm just going to watch."

Fai plastered his smiling mask back onto his face, desperate to stamp out the memory of his slumber in the swamp. "Now don't be so harsh, Syaoran-kun. I know you came back to help me and I know that you're my friend."

"Did not! Am not!" Syaoran insisted as Fai took his hand and started to pull himself up. "I just came to get my property back."

Fai might have had something to say about that, had he not been planning a devious trick at that exact moment. When he was on his feet and still had Syaoran's hand in his, he quickly pulled the young man into a fierce hug.

"Thank you for saving me."

"No! You idiot! Don't hug me!" But even as the words left his mouth, a giant pit opened up beneath them.

"DAMN! DAMN! DAMN!" Syaoran shouted as the two were dropped down into the darkness.

XxX

"It seems that he was able to awaken this time," Ashura said to himself. "However, there will be other dreams."

"Why are you doing this?" Kurogane asked stoically as he watched Fai and Syaoran tumble down the dark shaft. He'd been made to watch everything, every single one of the magician's nightmares. He almost felt disgusted with himself. Did Fai really believe that he would do any of those things to him? Rape? Murder? Rejection? He couldn't get the horror and sadness he'd seen on the mage's wasted face out of his mind. He hadn't been able to stop it. He almost felt as if he'd actually done all of those terrible things.

"I'm doing it because it needs to be done."

That made no sense. Torturing Fai to the point of insanity…that didn't need to be done. It was wrong.

"Take me instead," Kurogane said suddenly.

"Pardon, little warrior?" Ashura asked, sneering as if he'd expected the request.

"You heard me, Ashura. Let Fai out of here. Take my life for his."

"Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that. Besides, you and I both know what would happen if you were to make such a trade. The wizard would not long survive learning that yet another cherished person had died for his sake. He no more wants to live in a world without you than you without him. The guilt will eat away at his spirit, until one night, when the air is still and the moon is full, he will take up a dagger and-"

"Stop it!" the ninja said harshly. He knew the rest and he didn't want to hear it. Much as he hated to admit it, he knew that Ashura was right. It would be just like before, and he sure as hell didn't want to be the one to put Fai through all of that again.

"Either way, the two of you probably won't be getting out of here alive."

XxX

Syaoran was the first to come flying out of the tunnel. Somehow, he managed to grab a root that was growing out of the exit before he went plunging downwards. Fai managed to stop his decent at the very mouth of the tunnel, just barely managing to hang on.

"Oh god," Fai exclaimed as he took in their new surroundings. They were balanced precariously on a ledge overlooking a giant, stagnant bog. Clouds of rotten air bubbled up from the festering pools of whatever the hell it was that was down there. It certainly couldn't be described as water. "What is it?"

"It's the Bog of Eternal Stench!" Syaoran shouted, still hanging onto his root.

"I've never smelt anything like it! It's like…" There were no words, really. Think of the worst scent you can possibly imagine, multiply it by a billion to the seventh power and…you know what, let's just not do this. We're not getting anywhere close to what it was like.

"It doesn't matter what it's like! It's a bog of _eternal stench_! Help me!"

"Oh!" Fai finally turned his attention back to the struggling boy and pulled him back up onto the ledge. Then, the two started to inch along the almost non-existent ledge, moving towards one of the few patches of solid ground in sight.

"Well," Fai sighed. "Life is certainly never dull."

"What did you have to go and do a thing like that for?" Syaoran asked angrily.

"What? Rescue you?"

"No! You _hugged_ me!"

"I wasn't aware that that was a crime in this country."

"Urrgh! That's not the point! It was-" Syaoran's tirade was cut short by his boots slipping from the ledge. Fai turned and tried to grab him but they both ended up going over the side…and landing on a rather disgruntled pile of red fur.

"Sakura-chan!" Fai shouted excitedly, happy to have found the loveable beast.

"Smell bad!" Sakura groaned. But then Fai noticed that someone was missing.

"Where's Syaoran-kun?"

"Gerrof me!" a muffled voice sounded from somewhere below them. Fai glanced down and saw a pair of squirming legs sticking out from beneath Sakura's ample rump. The wizard quickly helped Sakura up and Syaoran climbed to his feet.

"Syaoran-kun, this is Sakura-chan. She's a friend, too," Fai introduced, being careful to keep his nose pinched shut.

"What…did you call her? Sakura?" Syaoran asked, his face going stiff for a moment.

"Yes. Why?" Fai asked, noting the look even as it vanished from the young man's face.

"Nothing. There's a bridge," Syaoran pointed out, already back to his gruff self.

"Hyuu, hyuu, Syaoran-kun! Let's get out of here," Fai cheered as he led the way to the bridge, his thoughts instantly off of Syaoran's face and back on his quest.

"Stop!" a high, squeaky voice ordered as the companions approached.

"Oh…my…" Fai started as a familiar white fuzz ball bounced onto the scene. Mokona Modoki came to a stop right in the middle of their path.

"Please, move aside. We have to get across."

"Without Mokona's permission, _no one_ can cross!"

"Please! I only have a little time left!" Fai said, his voice rising in panic.

"We've gotta get out of the stench!" Syaoran shouted.

"Smell _bad_!" came Sakura's monosyllabic protest.

"Stench? What are you talking about?" Mokona asked, obviously confused.

"The smell!" Fai said, waving his arm around to indicate the bog.

"Mokona doesn't smell anything."

"You're joking!" Syaoran said angrily.

"The air is sweet and fragrant, _and no one can pass without Mokona's permission!_" Mokona shouted, bouncing right up in Syaoran's face.

"Please! Let us cross!" Fai was getting desperate.

_That white idiot! It's in my way! I'll kill it!_

_Wait! Who's thought was that? Not mine? I'd never hurt Mokona!_

Then it hit him. The staff!

Simply by having touched it even once, the evil magic was burrowing it's way into his mind. It was getting to him. Not even his own barriers could protect him from it forever. How long did he have before it took him over? Before their thoughts became one?

Fai was snapped out of his thoughts by the sounds of a battle. Mokona was mercilessly pummeling Sakura with it's small white body and Syaoran kept trying to grab at the flying pork bun without much success.

"Mokona will conquer this mountain!" Mokona declared boldly, smashing into Sakura's head. However, Sakura finally got fed up with everything, picked up a log, and used it to bash Mokona against a tree. A few breathless moments of silence followed before Mokona emerged from one of the tree's many hidey-holes, completely unharmed.

"Before today, Mokona has never met a match in battle, but big red has fought Mokona to a standstill."

"Are you all right, Sakura-chan?" both Fai and Syaoran asked at the same time, and then, having heard the other, gave each other odd looks.

"Yay for Lady Sakura!" Mokona cheered. "Let's be partners from now on and fight bad guys together!"

Sakura smiled (maybe, it was kind of hard to tell) as she lifted Mokona out of the tree. "Sakura get partner!"

"All right, then. Let's get moving," Fai said as he moved towards the bridge.

"Wait a minute!" Mokona bounced back in front of the bridge. "You forget Mokona's sacred vow!"

"But you just said Sakura's your partner!" Fai protested, feeling the anger that was not his flare up.

"Mokona has taken an oath, and Mokona will defend it to the death!"

Fai sighed, rubbing his temples in frustration. This was certainly not the Mokona he knew. "Okay, let's handle this rationally. What exactly have you sworn?"

"Mokona has sworn that no one may cross this bridge without Mokona's permission."

Fai rolled his eyes (he really was spending too much time around Big Puppy). The solution to this was so simple it was almost laughable.

"Well…may we have your permission?"

Mokona seemed confused at first; shocked that such a question could exist. But finally, the tiny creature looked up from it's deliberation.

"Yes?"

"Thank you, noble fuzz ball," Fai said, bowing deeply before moving past Mokona. But then the magician actually got a good look at the so-called bridge. It was little more than a few logs held together by some old ropes. Hesitantly, Fai stepped out onto the bridge and slowly began to move across.

"No fear! This bridge has been around for a thousand years," Mokona said proudly as it bounced up and down on one of the rock foundations. But no sooner had the words left Mokona's mouth than the bridge literally came apart beneath Fai's feet. The blond only just managed to grab an overhanging branch before the bridge disappeared completely.

"Oops," Mokona said, blushing in embarrassment.

"Problem. Big problem!" Fai said to himself as he swung precariously from the already weak branch. Sakura threw back her large head and howled.

"Sakura, why are you standing around and howling? We need to help your friend!" Mokona shouted. But once again, our darling manjuu had spoken too soon.

Boulders were rolling in from everywhere, even rising up from the bog itself at Sakura's call, all coming together to form a path beneath Fai's dangling feet.

"You can call the rocks?" Mokona asked, mouth hanging wide open in awe.

"Sure. Rocks friends."

"Thank you, Sakura-chan," Fai said as he carefully lowered himself down onto the newly formed rock path.

"Nice trick," Syaoran appraised as he eased himself out onto the new bridge, beckoning Sakura to follow after him. As the first three crossed, Mokona turned back to the guard tree one last time.

"Oh, Mokona!" Mokona shouted. At the call of the white twin, the black Mokona came flying out of the tree.

"Come on. We're going on an adventure!"

The black Mokona squealed excitedly as the two Modoki hopped across the newborn bridge. Once everyone was across they started off with the Mokona leading the way and Fai and Sakura following close behind. However, unnoticed by any of them, Syaoran was even further behind. He was trailing along beside the bank of the bog, the peach that Ashura had armed him with practically burning in his fist. For a moment, he stopped, as if coming to a decision, and then made to lob the peach into the muck.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Syaoran suddenly heard the king's voice in the air around him.

"Oh, _please_!" the boy begged. "I _can't_ give it to him!"

"Think about this, Syaoran. Are you really going to disobey me at the very moment you've been reunited with Sakura?"

Syaoran bowed his head dejectedly. "She doesn't know me. She barely knows anything! I still haven't found the right feather."

"And if you want to live long enough to continue to search for it, then you'll do as I say."

XxX

"Look here, little Fai. Is this what you're looking for?" Ashura said teasingly to the image of Fai in the mirror as he inclined his head back towards the still-imprisoned Kurogane. "So much trouble over such a little thing, but not for long. He'll soon forget all about you, my fine ninja," he continued, addressing Kurogane for the first time in what felt like hours. "Just as soon as Syaoran gives him my present."

"What kind of spell do you have on that thing?" Kurogane hissed. Forget him? What was the sick bastard going to do to Fai this time? How much more could he bear?

"It's time to begin another dream," Ashura answered as he rose from his throne.

"No! Don't!" Kurogane couldn't stop himself from crying out. "Don't put him through that again! You'll _destroy_ him!"

"That's the intent. This dream is sure to ensnare his soul forever. There will be no waking up this time."

"No!" the enraged swordsman shouted vehemently, pounding a helpless fist against his magic cage.

"Aww, what's wrong? Is the little warrior feeling lonely? Well, don't cry, little baby. You won't be alone for much longer. I think you'll_enjoy_ this new dream," Ashura said as he finally turned to face Kurogane. "Not only will Fai's soul be captured by my spell…yours will join it!"

"My soul? What are you talking about?"

Ashura didn't answer this time. Instead, he drew Kurogane's prison closer so that the ninja could see what he was holding in his outstretched hand. It was a set of four spherical crystals. Each was as clear as glass and they all clinked merrily together as Ashura skillfully twirled them in a single hand. Kurogane could feel his eyelids getting heavy as he gazed at their hypnotic movements. No matter how hard he tried, he could not tear his eyes away.

"What…are you doing to me?" he tried to demand, though his voice was already thick and drowsy.

"Sleep," Ashura crooned softly as the crystals continued their dance. One by one, he let them fly up on their own, like bubbles drifting lazily through the air.

"What…are you…doing…?" Kurogane couldn't fight off the sleep any longer. His eyes slid shut and his body collapsed in a heap within the confines of his cage. Ashura sneered wickedly as the crystals drifted out the open window, heading off to wherever Fai was.

It was about to begin.

XxX

"Was that Mokona's stomach or yours, Mokona?"

"Hungry."

"I know. Maybe we could find some berries or something," Fai said in response to all the cries of hunger. The wizard hung back a little to see if he could make good on that idea. After all, he was getting quite hungry himself.

"Uh…Fai?" He suddenly heard Syaoran's voice behind him. Fai turned to face him.

"Here," he handed the mage a peach with what he thought was shyness in his voice.

"Syaoran-kun, thank you," Fai said, happily accepting the fruit. "You're a life saver."

An alarm went off in his head almost the second he bit into the peach. He was suddenly back in the dream swamp, foolishly eating the forbidden fruit that Ashura had offered him. There was no blood this time…just a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach as the chewed bit of peach moved down his throat.

"This tastes strange," he whispered, the kiss of enchantment evident in his eyes and voice. He realized that it hadn't been shyness that he'd heard in Syaoran's voice, but guilt. "Syaoran-kun…what have you done?"

"Damn you, Ashura!" the boy muttered as he disappeared into the trees. "And damn me, too!"

Fai's senses were swimming in magic. _Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!_ He mentally kicked himself. He should have known better than to eat something from the labyrinth. He tried to stumble forward but he couldn't make his body move in a straight line. He grabbed desperately at a nearby tree to keep himself upright.

"Everything's…dancing," he moaned. His vision was going hazy. The world was spinning around him. Before he realized it, he was on his back gazing up at the branches of the tree he'd been clinging to. He felt like he was going to be sick. One minute his head ached and felt heavy as a stone, the next it was light as air. He trembled as the magic swept through him. He was helpless in the grip of the spell.

For a moment, the swooning mage could have sworn he saw bubbles drifting in the tree branches overhead…bubbles that contained shimmering images of bright masks and shifting fabric. The scent of roses and wine suddenly filled the air and Fai was born away on a cloud of light and music.

XxX

(A/N) Sorry about the wait. I actually had this thing pretty near ready about three days ago but my laptop died a horrible painful death and had to spend time in college computer services undergoing an arduous resurrection. But hey, so long as I didn't lose any of my work, I can stand the wait. And I apologize to anyone who was hoping to see the wild gang in here. I just didn't see a need to add them and went with the dream swamp sequence instead, which was actually inspired by a TV miniseries called the Tenth Kingdom. And if you've seen that, then good on ya. And if anyone was confused by the whole gun thing, that was also a bit from Serenity that I thought sort of flowed well with the whole sequence so I decided to include it. Well, I do hope I'm keeping you in enough suspense until next time.


	5. Falling In Love

(A/N) Dearest, darlingest Moro-san, Eldarsevenstar, fengtianshi, Mirika, Kingleby, and Slivershell, thank you all much for your glowing reviews. And thanks to all of you who are not reviewing but still reading anyway. I know you're out there! I have a hit counter! You know, this first scene in the chapter is definitely the one I've been looking forward to writing the most ever since I got the idea for this story. Hopefully a nice blend of fluff and smex. This is the lemon I mentioned might be coming. If you have a problem with graphic description (I always found graphic to be an odd word to match with sex; graphic has negative connotations and sex just isn't negative), for starters, it's probably a little odd that you're reading a rated M story, but even so…if it bugs you, you can stop reading when the phrase "**Falling, Falling, Falling**" appears and pick up again at the phrase "**Falling, As the world falls down. Falling**". If you have the means to do so, I would recommend listening to the song "As the World Falls Down" during the first scene. It was written to it and I've provided the lyrics for people who don't know it.

**The Center Of The Labyrinth**

_Chapter 5: Falling…In Love_

This wasn't it. Something wasn't right about this. He knew it. Certainly the environment was pleasant enough, but there was still something…off about it. He'd been somewhere else…hadn't he?

Fai felt dazed as he gazed around the room he found himself in. It was white. The stone of the floor was white. He couldn't actually see any walls to this place because yards of white silk were draped everywhere, concealing walls and creating hundreds of little alcoves off of the main ballroom. Where had that thought come from? Is that what this place was? Was he at a ball? A masquerade? The room was filled with dancing couples. What else could it be?

Some people danced, others stood around in groups talking, laughing, and sipping glasses of wine. They all wore masks, except for him. Everyone was dressed in garish costumes to match the masks they wore, adding splashes of color to the white. Fai glanced down at himself and found that he, too, was white. Everything about his outfit was white. The pants, the shoes, the shirt, the costume coat, which happened to have swirling patterns of tiny white beads and crystals sewn into it that caught the light whenever he moved.

The blond felt overwhelmed as he moved through the crowded dance floor. He couldn't help feeling that he should be somewhere else right now. But the more he tried to grasp that thought, the further away from him it managed to slip. Before long, the feeling was gone entirely and he allowed himself to be swept away by the movements of the crowd and the music. It was a soft melody, a strain of tune that floated through his entire being, caressing him in ways that music shouldn't have been able to. He was moving through a haze of music, paper faces, and white silk that all seemed to swirl together with the notes of the song. It was all so dreamlike that Fai felt as if he were losing himself, as if at any moment, he would simply drift away and cease to be. At least, that's how he was feeling until he spotted something that rooted him to the spot.

It was a slip of black that had appeared among the gaudy colors and the all-consuming white canvas they were all painted on. He was certain it hadn't been there before. It was a man, a tall, dark man dressed all in black from head to toe. He was the only person in the room, other than Fai, who was unmasked.

When those sharp, red eyes captured his, Fai once again felt that there was something he should know, but the feeling was soon gone, swallowed up by those deep red pools. Fai's curiosity was aroused. He slowly began to move across the dance floor, towards the dark mystery man. He would occasionally lose sight of him in the crowd but he kept moving forward anyway. He _had_ to find him.

Kurogane had not been nearly as disoriented as Fai upon finding himself in the hazy ballroom. At first, he'd been a little irked at not knowing where he was, but then he realized that he could think of nowhere else that he _should_ be. If not here…then where else was there? _What_ else was there? He didn't know. And the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he didn't particularly care. Hell, it wasn't so bad being here. Besides…for some reason he felt that there was something here that he had to do.

That was when he spotted him. For a moment, Kurogane thought that he had imagined the man; he blended in so well with the white background. But as he continued to stare, he found that he was able to distinguish the man's golden hair from everything else. He was clothed in purest white and his skin was pale as snow. Were it not for those golden locks, he would surely fade away into the whiteness all around them. That thought instantly caused anger to flare up in his heart. That_wouldn't_ happen. He wouldn't let it! He would not allow this pale angel to fade away before he'd had the chance to hold him in his arms.

Kurogane felt his face flush as he locked eyes with the blond man, quite the opposite effect of what one would expect from such chilling, ice blue eyes. He kept his gaze on them as the man moved towards him through the crowd of revelers. He stood fast in the swirling sea of noise and movement, patiently waiting for the white slip of a man to come to him. Then, almost before he knew it, there he was, standing before him.

Fai blushed as those red eyes continued to bore into his. He wanted to look away, to be coy, but he found that he couldn't. Time itself seemed to stand still as red gazed, gently and searchingly, into blue.

**There's such a sad love**

**Deep in your eyes.**

**A kind of pale jewel**

**Open and closed**

**Within your eyes.**

**I'll place the sky**

**Within your eyes.**

Kurogane held out his hand and Fai took it. The taller man was surprised by how cold the other's touch was. It was like the icy kiss of the dead of winter. Kurogane instinctively took the leading position, placing a hand on Fai's waist as Fai placed a hand on his shoulder. He was fairly certain that he'd never danced a step in his life, but at the same time he knew that it did not matter. He would be able to dance so long as held this ethereal sprite in his arms.

But would he be able to? As the two waltzed together, Kurogane began to feel just how insubstantial the man seemed to be. He was like a ghost. It felt like he would disappear into nothing if he let go of him. Well, if that was the case, then he would simply not let him go. He would melt this prince of ice and make him solid if it was the last thing he did.

**There's such a fooled heart**

**Beating so fast**

**In search of new dreams,**

**A love that will last**

**Within your heart.**

**I'll place the moon**

**Within your heart.**

Kurogane had to admit that he enjoyed watching the other man's cheeks turn red as he spun him around. The blush made him feel like he was making progress. The fire he felt growing in his chest for the blonde was slowly warming the icy cold. Already the healing flames could be seen on his pale cheeks. Heat danced between them as surely as they danced with each other.

Fai could not help but smile at the warmth he felt spreading through him. He hadn't realized how cold he was until the dark-haired man had taken his hand. Now he felt like he was breathing after a lifetime without breath. He was suddenly alive…after experiencing an eternity of death and darkness.

**As the pain sweeps through,**

**Makes no sense for you.**

**Every thrill is gone.**

**Wasn't too much fun at all,**

**But I'll be there for you**

**As the World falls down.**

If nothing else, Fai was surprised by some of the things he could see in the eyes of the taller man. They wanted to know why he was so cold, so pale…so_ready_ to fade away into nothingness. Why did he hurt? Would he be all right?

_Can I help? Will you let me?_

**Falling.**

**Falling down.**

**Falling in love.**

Fai answered with a warm smile. He didn't know why he was cold. He didn't _know_ why he hurt. But he _did_ know that this man was making all of that go away with his warm touch. He had wanted to lose himself, but this dark stranger was keeping him solid, keeping him real. He was acting as an anchor for him, keeping him steady in a world that was so clearly not.

As they danced, they moved closer and closer together, never taking their eyes off of each other. Kurogane's hands moved so that they wrapped themselves around Fai's waist and Fai's hands moved to drape from Kurogane's neck. Their foreheads pressed together, each wanting nothing more than to gaze into the eyes of the other. Fai marveled at just how right this felt. Nothing had ever felt _more_ right. For the first time, he knew what it was to feel safe and wanted. Though it was still weak, he felt a fire in his own chest, growing and rising up to meet the warmth from his partner.

**I'll paint you mornings of gold.**

**I'll spin you valentine evenings.**

**Though we're strangers 'til now,**

**We're choosing the path**

**Between the stars.**

**I'll leave my love**

**Between the stars.**

Kurogane was amazed at how perfectly the slighter man fit into his embrace. It was almost as if the two of them had been made for this very moment. He shivered inside as the blond laid his head down on his chest. He let his chin rest on his head, enjoying the feeling of holding him as they continued their dance. In that moment, he knew what it was to be whole. He knew that everything that he would ever want to have or hold or look upon or be was right here in his arms, right now. This man was precious to him, and he would protect him from anything that_dared_ to hurt him.

"What's your name?"

"Fai," he responded immediately, lifting his head to look him in the eyes once more. Kurogane smiled. The name suited him. It was a bare slip of a name, just as he was a bare slip of a person. But it still packed a punch, just like those sapphire blue eyes of his.

"Kurogane," he returned. Fai's contented smile grew even wider at this. He liked it. It was a strong name, but a flexible one as well. It was a name that he could wrap around him like a warm, protective blanket.

As they moved past one of the decorative flowerpots that adorned the side of the dance floor, Kurogane took the opportunity to snatch a rose from it. Then he turned back to Fai and tucked the exquisite red bloom behind his ear, expertly twining it into his golden hair. He wasn't pale anymore. A flash of true color had been added. He wouldn't be able to fade away now. He'd been made real at last. He gave Fai another rare smile as he pulled him even closer and whispered in his ear.

"Please…don't disappear."

**As the pain sweeps through,**

**Makes no sense for you.**

**Every thrill is gone.**

**Wasn't too much fun at all,**

**But I'll be there for you**

**As the world falls down.**

They had stopped moving altogether. The ball continued, dancing couples swirled around them, the world kept turning, time kept flowing onwards. But for this single, perfect moment, their worlds had stopped completely, and for Fai and Kurogane, nothing existed in those worlds except for each other. They _were_ the world. Fai leaned into Kurogane, nuzzling his cheek up against his.

"I'll never disappear, Kuro-sama. Not so long as you're here to hold me."

Kurogane raised an eyebrow, briefly pulling away from Fai. "Where did that come from?"

"Mm, I'm not sure. But it sounds kind of cute. Don't you think?"

Kurogane just shrugged and pulled the man back into his embrace. He didn't mind it so much. Fai responded immediately to his touch, laying his head upon his chest once more, snuggling deeper into the embrace. Gods, it felt so wonderful to be held like this, safe and warm in the arms of someone who loved him. For surely that's what this was…love…this fire in his chest…the feeling that he was falling, melting into the other.

**Falling**

**As the world falls down**

Kurogane lifted his head up again, gently taking his chin in his hand and tilting his face up so that he could gaze into his eyes once more.

"Fai?" he said softly as he ran his thumb along the blonde's jaw line, wondering what it would feel like to kiss those lips.

"Mm…yes?" Fai mumbled, already half gone by the mere feeling of Kurogane's rough skin against his.

The darker man didn't say anything more. He couldn't. He'd meant to ask Fai if he could kiss him, but the words just wouldn't come. He _had_ to find out if his lips tasted as good as they looked…like puffs of honey. With the look on Fai's face, eyes half closed and lips slightly parted, spurring him on, Kurogane closed the distance between them and seized the kiss that it was his heaven to have.

Fai moved eagerly into the kiss, pressing himself up against Kurogane with an intensity he had not known he possessed. He placed his hands on his chest, feeling the rock hard muscle beneath the thin, black cloth. Kurogane cupped his face in both hands, as if he meant to devour the man's very essence through his mouth.

Oddly enough, it was Fai who took the first step to deepen the kiss. He ran his tongue along Kurogane's lips, asking, begging for access to the taller man's mouth. Kurogane was surprised by his sudden boldness, to say the least, but he was only too happy to oblige, granting him the access he so desperately desired. Their tongues danced together within the moist heat of their mouths, exploring every hidden nook and crevice.

When they finally burst apart for air, they gazed at each other with a mixture of amazement and longing, panting with desire.

"I love you, Fai," Kurogane declared passionately as their lips pressed together yet again. They did not break the kiss as they moved away from the dance floor.

**Falling**

**As the world falls down**

Kurogane led the way to one of the curtained off alcoves. As he moved Fai into the privacy of the white drapes, he noticed several silken pillows scattered about the space. Clearly these alcoves had been designed with one purpose in mind. Fai allowed himself to be pushed up against the back wall of the alcove as Kurogane covered his face with kisses. It was just as well, for he didn't think he could stand anymore. Kurogane's touch was making him go weak in the knees.

"I…love…you…" Kurogane murmured in between kisses. Fai threw his head back, offering up his ivory white neck to Kurogane's lips. Kurogane left a few lovers' marks on the unblemished skin and Fai cried out. For a moment, Kurogane felt guilty for his enjoyment. He shouldn't be doing this, shouldn't be defiling this bright angel's smooth skin with his rough touch. He hesitantly took a step back from him. He ached so badly for the man before him but…if he wasn't ready…if he hurt him…what he wanted just wasn't worth that.

But he was jerked out of his thoughts by Fai pulling their bodies back together. He could not suppress his moans as the contact pressed his aching hardness right up against Fai's stomach. Kurogane felt a blush spread across his face. He could no longer hide from him what his body wanted. Fortunately, Fai responded eagerly to the contact. He pressed himself even more firmly against the other man's body until Kurogane could feel Fai's own need hard against his leg.

"Please…Kurogane," he panted. "I want this. I want _you_. Let me show you how much I love you."

"But…I don't want to hurt you," Kurogane said quietly, stroking Fai's face with the gentle hands of a lover, being as gentle as possible, though his body was begging him for release.

"Don't worry about me. This is the way I want it," Fai replied, tracing light butterfly kisses all across Kurogane's face. "I know you felt it, too; when you held me…when we kissed…Imagine what it _could_ be…how far we could go…Kuro-chan." At that, he started to trail kisses down Kurogane's neck.

Kurogane smiled wryly at this. The little nicknames were starting to grow on him. He leaned into Fai, enjoying his gentle nuzzles. But his dazed smile instantly turned to a gasp and a loud moan as the shorter man thrust his hand down between them and roughly seized the throbbing hardness of him through the cloth.

"I can take it," Fai whispered in his ear. "Show me the stars."

**Falling**

**Falling**

**Falling**

It was all the inspiration Kurogane needed. He pushed Fai back up against the wall and he once again offered up his neck to be kissed. Kurogane did not move on until he'd thoroughly worked over every inch of that creamy white skin with his lips and tongue. When he had finished with that, he easily slid the coat from Fai's shoulders and began to undo the buttons on his shirt. For every button he popped open, he placed a rough kiss on Fai's chest. Then he started to kiss down his stomach…right down to the belt line. Fai groaned loudly as he started to undo the belt. Glancing back up at him and seeing only yes in his straining face, Kurogane continued, finally laying Fai bare. Without warning, he took the blonde's entire length in his mouth. He grinned inwardly as Fai cried out, desperately clutching at handfuls of the white silk draped over the walls. At first, his movements were slow, teasing the man he had pinned to the wall. He understood that this would most likely be painful for the blonde and he wanted him to enjoy this as much as he was.

"P- please…Kuro…seme…don't tease…faster!" Fai moaned. He was having trouble even forming the words in his mind at this point.

But Kurogane did not heed him. He continued his slow ministrations to the other man's need. Several moans escaped him as he worked with both teeth and tongue. Just like the rest of Fai, this part of him was silky smooth. It was like sucking on a length of warm velvet. He felt his own raging desire grow worse at that thought. The pale man bucked up against him involuntarily, matching the rhythm he'd established. When at last Kurogane released him, driving him over the edge, he nearly screamed, arching violently into him. Without hesitation, Kurogane took the hot flood of his passion down his throat. Almost immediately he stood up, catching Fai in his arms before he could collapse, and kissed him…hard. He thrust his tongue into the blonde's mouth, allowing him to taste his own self in the penetrating kiss.

**Falling in love**

**As the world falls down.**

Kurogane slowly lowered the two of them to their knees, being careful of his own aching need. Too much and he would lose it, and he wasn't quite ready to lose the fight with himself. He wanted to be in the smaller man when that happened and even that would have to be taken slowly.

But Fai obviously did not want to take things slowly. He reached forward and, with shaky hands, tore open his black dress shirt. He grinned devilishly as he allowed the ruined shirt to slip from his body. Fai and Kurogane both shuddered with pleasure as he ran slender fingers over the man's tanned, thickly muscled chest. His hands quickly dropped down to the waistline, easily freeing the hard length of him from its prison. He could see that Fai was ready for round two and that just aroused him even further. He couldn't hold out forever, so he reached back, starting to ready his lover for his entry. Fai cried out at the sudden intrusion into the, until then, virgin opening, but managed to distract both Kurogane and himself from his pain by lavishing rough kisses all over Kurogane's chest, paying special attention to the man's sensitive nipples. He tried many things to get Kurogane to move faster, but his love would not be persuaded. Desperate as he was to take him, Kurogane would die before he allowed himself to hurt Fai.

**Falling**

**Falling**

**Falling**

**Falling**

When Kurogane was sufficiently certain of Fai's readiness, he started to wriggle out of his own pants. As he did this, Fai started to lay himself down.

"Wait!" Kurogane stopped him with a harsh whisper. Instead _he_ lay down on the silk covered ground, resting his head on one of the many white pillows. "Come here…to me…" he hissed. He was so hard, it hurt. He reached a desperate hand out towards his love.

"Oh?" Fai started as he moved to straddle Kurogane's hips, his smile becoming joyful and playful once more. A quick shudder moved through him as he felt the tip of the man's need brush beneath him. "Is Kuro-sama too much to handle? Is he afraid of breaking his Fai?"

While that was partially true, Kurogane had another reason for this desire.

"I want…to see…your face…" he panted, grasping at the blonde's hips and slowly starting to lower him onto himself.

And so it was that the two lovers lay down on a bed of white silk and found one another. There was no pain for Fai, for even though Kurogane was aching and eager, he moved slowly, resisting the urge to fuck him senseless. Once he was fully sheathed in the warm, tight embrace of the lighter man's body, he waited patiently for him to become accustomed to the sensation before he would allow him to start creating a rhythm between them.

**Falling in love**

**As the world falls down.**

Fai was lost…lost in the heat and passion of this new dance that they danced together. He was surfing the crest of a breaking wave with his lover. He knew that even one misstep would mean oblivion, but he did not care. He was happy…and so very much in love. He had never dared to hope that he could be so close to another person. Before now, he had wanted to fade away into nothingness, to cease being. He was getting his wish now, only…not in the way he'd imagined. He felt as if his body was melting, becoming one with Kurogane's. He was losing himself inside of the other man. It wasn't oblivion he was moving towards, though. He was being created anew, becoming something better…something whole. Being held was wonderful. Being kissed and pleasured was divine. But this…to have Kurogane with him now, pleasuring him, loving him, _inside_ him…if he died this very moment, he would die content, with the other man's name upon his lips. It was the ultimate ecstasy. It was intimacy.

**Makes no sense at all.**

**Makes no sense to fall**

Kurogane felt much the same way as he watched his golden angel move above him. He watched the divine abandon spread across his face as he finally hit the sweet spot in him, bringing the two of them ever closer to the edge. He no longer cared for Fai's comfort, only his pleasure. He wanted, _needed_ for him to feel this. He arched up his own body; matching his violent thrusts with the bouncing rhythm the blonde had created. He seized his straining manhood, jerking with all his might, urging the man towards his second release. And of course, his own release was fast approaching, spurred on by the warm walls of Fai's body closing in on him.

"Oh, gods…_oh, Fai!_" he moaned desperately.

Tears of joy sprang from Fai's eyes as he came, screaming Kurogane's name. Kurogane followed him to ecstasy mere seconds later, a ragged scream of his own torn from his lips as he spilled his fiery essence into the very depths of his lover.

**Falling**

**As the world falls down.**

**Falling**

Kurogane easily pulled himself out of Fai and pulled his trembling body into a tight embrace. He turned happy eyes towards him, but then he noticed the wet rivulets trailing down his face. Fear and sadness struck to the very heart of him. He feared that Fai was right…that he'd broken his sweet little love.

"No," he said sadly, reaching a hand towards his face. "Don't cry. Please…don't ever let me hurt you again."

A bright, blinding smile lit the blonde's face as more tears flowed freely down his cheeks. He laughed joyfully at Kurogane's confusion. "You haven't hurt me. These are tears of happiness. Taste them," he invited. Kurogane took a tentative lick of his lover's cheek and found, to his surprise, that the water was sweet.

"Did you see them, Kuro-koi?" Fai asked as he snuggled deep into the taller man's arms. "The stars?"

"I didn't need to," he answered softly as he gazed down into Fai's shimmering eyes. "They're right here with me."

**Falling in love**

**As the world falls down.**

Fai sighed contentedly as Kurogane peppered his face with kisses, whispering his name over and over again.

"Kuro-sama," he started, his voice still thick with tears. "Thank you."

Kurogane didn't speak. He simply held Fai closer. He took his chin in his hand and placed a deep, lingering kiss on his lips. Fai settled into Kurogane's gentle embrace. He was completely spent and was ready to welcome the sweet oblivion of sleep. But even as he settled down to sleep within the warm circle of his lover's arms…something at the back of his mind told him that he could not. There was still something he had to do. That feeling he'd had before was returning…the feeling that he was supposed to be somewhere else.

_Nonsense_, he berated himself. _Where else could I possibly __**want**__ to be other than right here with Kurogane?_

But even as the thought was born, it became silly. There was something…more. The feeling persisted. If he didn't do it…then Kurogane would disappear…forever.

Fai sat up suddenly when he heard the clanging ring of a clock counting out the hours. Time! There wasn't any time left! He had to get out! He couldn't let Kurogane disappear! He couldn't lose him again!

**Falling**

**Falling**

**Falling in love.**

"What's wrong?" Kurogane asked, sitting up and shaking himself out of his own half-slumber.

"I have to get out of here!" Fai shouted, leaping to his feet as the clock continued to strike off the hours. _Four_.

"What?! What are you talking about?" Kurogane panicked, also climbing to his feet.

_Five._

"There's something I have to do!"

_Six._

"What something?" Kurogane asked, starting to get angry at the intrusive clock.

"Something…I have to find…I have to finish. I don't want you to disappear!"

_Eight_.

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"_I don't know!_" Fai cried as he searched for an escape.

"Mage!" Kurogane shouted angrily, not really certain where the title had come from.

"Please, Kuro-rin! Help me find a way out!" he cried desperately.

_Ten_.

"Wait, Fai!" Kurogane tried to calm him, seizing his wrists in his hands. "Please…remember. Remember! He'll want you to forget!" The larger man had no idea what he was talking about, but he knew that it needed to be said, just the same. He had one chance. He couldn't let Fai forget! Somehow he knew that both of their lives depended on it.

_Eleven_.

"Never!" Fai said fiercely as he hugged his love one last time. "I'll _never_ forget! I could never be more far away from you…than I am right now."

Kurogane lengthened the embrace for a brief moment. Confused thoughts jumbled about in his head as he took that moment to memorize the scent of Fai's hair, the feel of him in his arms.

_You're taking so much of me with you…so far._

He did not speak those thoughts, but he knew that Fai caught his meaning as he pulled away from him.

_Twelve._

"Please," he said calmly. "I have to do this. Get me out."

Kurogane nodded solemnly. The two moved towards the back wall of their little alcove, somehow knowing it to be the answer they sought. Fai tore at the silk hangings on the wall and the lovers found themselves faced with a shear wall of what looked like mirrored glass. Fai glanced at Kurogane, who nodded once more and drew back his fist. Then he delivered a devastating punch to the wall. The stuff shattered upon impact. Fai suddenly felt himself falling. He reached out for Kurogane and felt their fingers touch for a brief instant…but then he was falling away through a cloud of smoke and fading music. The last thing he saw was Kurogane's terrified face high above him.

Then he was gone.

**As the world falls down.**

XxX

He was falling! He was too far! He tried to reach out for him…felt their fingers brush together for a brief, agonizing second. Then he lost him. The last thing he saw was Fai's face as it disappeared into the darkness below. Then _he_ was falling, falling through smoke and darkness. The next thing he knew, his body was smashing into something hard.

Kurogane quickly pulled himself up, trying hard to shake off the pain as he took in his new surroundings. He was back in the cage! Suddenly, all of his memories came rushing back to him, combining with the memory of everything that had just occurred.

"Mm, drat," Ashura noted languidly from his throne. "You're back. I was hoping that dream would be strong enough to hold the two of you. Meh, no matter. It ate up enough time."

Kurogane shuddered as his two realities merged. He touched his swollen lips, remembering the last bruising kiss he'd shared with the mage. Had any of that actually happened? Did he really just…make love to Fai?

"Was it…all just a dream?"

Ashura pursed his lips, pondering the question. "Well, you were both _there_, to be certain. You were there together. While it _was_ a dream situation that I created, I suppose one could claim that you both experienced it together. So…I'll leave it to you to decide whether or not you _actually_ fucked him." At this, the Goblin King sneered wickedly up at him, perfectly aware of the emotional turmoil this would cause for both the ninja and the wizard…assuming the wizard ever remembered, that is.

Kurogane shuddered yet again as the memories swept through him. He could still feel the mage's fevered skin upon him, _within_ him. He recalled the feeling of white silk beneath him and warm flesh above him. He dropped to all fours, strangely overwhelmed by the images and feelings that assaulted his very soul. Searching fingers…a slender, sweating back…lips swollen from kissing…pale skin arching into his touch…mouth agape, head thrown back in ecstasy…a passion so deep and burning he was sure that more than just his heart would burst. Nothing…nothing in all the worlds…had ever made him feel like this. Kurogane placed a hand to his heated forehead. He could still taste Fai on his lips.

"My, my, my," Ashura commented as he watched the ninja. "Our little Fai must truly be a wondrous piece of ass…to get such a rise out of _you_."

Kurogane said nothing. He merely glared at the crazed king of the goblins before turning his attention to the mirror, hoping to see Fai. It wasn't as if what the man said was false. It had been…glorious. Besides, he would be lying if he said that he hadn't imagined what it would be like…to be with the magician. Needless to say, he had also imagined an encounter a little more on his own terms, but still…it had been everything he'd dreamed of and more. However, unlike what Ashura was insinuating, this had been more than a quick fuck to him. It meant something to him…almost more than he cared to admit, even to himself. But…had it meant anything to the mage? Did he even remember it? He now understood the reason for his desperation in the dream. It wasn't simply that Ashura _wanted_ him to forget. It was that he would _force_ him to forget and there wouldn't have been a damn thing either of them could have done about it, even if they _had_ remembered. The swordsman placed a hand on the glass wall of his prison, his expression unreadable as he gazed upon the reflected image of Fai's still body.

"Will he…remember?"

"No," Ashura answered coldly. "The spell was much stronger on him than it was on you. He won't remember anything that just happened, or his quest. If I've done my job right, then he won't even remember _you_."

Kurogane's insides quivered with rage, but his face remained impassive. As angry as he was at Ashura for having tortured Fai so much, rubbing salt into wounds that hadn't even had a chance to properly close yet, he knew that he couldn't afford to give the man anything else to bait him with. Besides, there was still hope. If the spell was so strong on the mage, then how come he had been the first to remember that they shouldn't be there?

_Perhaps there's still a chance that he'll be able to regain his memory_, Kurogane thought to himself as his eyes roved over the still form of his crazy wizard, who was lying in what appeared to be a pile of garbage. The thought of him, helpless and alone without his memory, caused the warrior's heart to twist painfully. Fai needed him…and he couldn't help. The man continued to mentally thrash himself as he continued to stare at the mage's innocent, pale face. Wait…pale? No. That wasn't right anymore. There was a flash of color mixed in with the white. It was…

_The rose!_

_Oh gods in heaven! It actually happened. I really did lie with him!_

For the barest instant, the unreadable mask of the ninja's dark features cracked and his eyes looked sick with worry.

_Damn you, Fai! Please…you __**have **__to remember. You promised me you wouldn't forget!_

XxX

Of the many ways he would have chosen to be awoken from a deep sleep, the scent of garbage heavy in the air was certainly not the first. Fai wasn't certain how long he lingered there in the space between waking and sleeping, but it was the reek of filth in his nose that finally convinced him to wake and seek an escape from it. He slowly sat up, fighting the acute dizziness that swamped his head.

"What was I doing?" he moaned to himself.

When he was finally able to open his eyes without the world spinning to and fro before them, Fai noticed that he was clutching something in his right hand. He glanced down and found a peach with a bite out of it. The only problem with that was the fact that there was a nest of slimy worms where the pit should have been. Fai shuddered with disgust and tossed the rotten fruit away. Had _he_ taken that bite? Great! He was probably going to get worms now.

Fai glanced around as he slid down the pile of trash. Briefly it occurred to him that he had no idea where he was or what he was doing here.

"GET OFF MY BACK!" the scratchy, disused voice of an old man suddenly sounded directly in his ear. Fai gave a tiny "meep" and leapt away from the scrap heap…just as a huge chunk of it started moving! As the thing turned to face him, Fai could just barely make out the figure of an ancient man bent double beneath a pile of junk. For some reason, the old creature seemed vaguely familiar to him, but he didn't know why. Had our darling Fai been in complete control of his mental facilities, he would have known that this creature before him, with the exception of its advanced age, bore a striking resemblance to a certain Kyle Rondart.

"Why don't you look where you're going, young man?" the Kyle-thing asked angrily.

"I _wa_s looking," Fai insisted as his empty gaze swept the junkyard once more. He couldn't for the life of him seem to remember much of anything. He remembered Sakura, Syaoran, and Mokona. There was…something about a journey…smiling…empty…no, that was wrong. Something…made…the empty feeling…go away.

_For every button he popped open, he placed a rough kiss on Fai's chest. Then he started to kiss down his stomach…right down to the belt line. Fai groaned loudly as he started to undo the belt._

Fai suddenly found himself short of breath. He shook his head, trying to clear it. What_was_ that?

"And where _were_ you going?" the junk man continued his bellyaching, though the object of his tirade barely even noticed his presence.

"I don't _know_," Fai answered honestly.

"You can't _look_ where you're going if you don't _know_ where you're going!"

Fai was only half-listening. He slowly started to wander away from the bitching thing. There was…something else he should be doing.

_He reached forward and, with shaky hands, tore open his black dress shirt. He grinned devilishly as he allowed the ruined shirt to slip from his body. Fai's hands quickly dropped down to the waistline, easily freeing the hard length of him from its prison._

The ailing blonde placed a hand to his forehead. What was happening to him?

"I was…looking for something," he said slowly. Of that, he was fairly certain.

"Well, look here," the junk creature said to him, drawing something white out of the pile of filth it had garnered around itself. Fai tilted his head sideways, staring uncertainly at the thing in Junk Kyle's hand. It was a plush toy. It looked like-

"Mokona?" he said uncertainly. Something was out of joint here. Mokona wasn't a stuffed toy. Mokona was real…right?

"That's what you were looking for, wasn't it?" Junk Kyle said kindly as he handed the doll to Fai. He took it and stared at it for a moment. Was it what he was looking for? He really didn't know. Sure. Why not? It was something that was sort of familiar.

"Yes. Thank you," he said softly, nuzzling the little white toy up against his cheek for comfort. He was just so confused.

"Now," the garbage creature started as he led Fai back towards the scrap heap he'd come from. "Why don't you come in here and see if there's anything else you'd like."

With that, the Kyle thing pushed Fai through a small door…and the befuddled man suddenly found himself back in his room in Nihon.

"Nihon? Is that what it's called?" he said sleepily as he laid himself down on the futon in the middle of the room. He vaguely recalled coming here with Sakura and Syaoran but…why were they here? It was…important to someone, wasn't it? Nihon was…a sanctuary.

_A quick shudder moved through him as he felt the tip of the man's need brush beneath him._

"_I want…to see…your face…" he panted, grasping at the blonde's hips and slowly starting to lower him onto himself._

Fai curled into a ball, clutching the stuffed doll to his chest like a frightened child. This dream…the heat…the desperate need. Why couldn't he remember? What was real…and what was imagined?

"Which part is…the dream?" he moaned, on the verge of tears. Nothing made sense.

"Better to stay in here, dear," the abrasive voice of the Junk Master suddenly burst into the serenity of the room. "There's nothing you want out there, no."

Fai made himself even smaller on the futon. He didn't want to deal with this nightmare. But Kyle was having none of it. He pulled Fai up off the futon and sat him down in front of a mirror. Then he started to hand things to him.

"Ooh, look at these nice dolls you've got here," he said, handing said dolls to Fai. He glanced down at them and saw the faces of Syaoran and Sakura staring up at him. Were they…just toys as well? Had he ever really known Mokona, Sakura, and Syaoran…or had all of that been in his mind, too? As he gazed at his reflection in the mirror, more things piled in around him: books, potion bottles, more dolls he could have sworn were real people. But none of these things mattered. What scared him most was his own face. He was terrified. He admitted that easily enough. But no matter how much fear he felt in his heart, he could not make the blank, empty look in his eyes go away. It was like he wasn't even present behind his own eyes.

Fai's attention was pulled away from the mirror by something new that Kyle tossed at his head. He glanced down and saw a stuffed black dog lying beside him. Dropping several of the things Kyle had shoved into his arms, he gingerly lifted the toy animal. For a moment it had a real face, a familiar face with red eyes. But then the eyes winked out and the face began to fade away.

_NO!_ His heart screamed as the doll began to disappear. It couldn't disappear! The puppy was real. He knew it! The puppy he would not lose!

"Please. Don't leave me alone," he whispered, tears streaming silently down his face. No matter how hard he tried, he could not make the stuffed puppy stay solid. It was fading ever faster into oblivion.

_He felt as if his body was melting, becoming one with --------. He was losing himself inside of the other man. It wasn't oblivion he was moving towards, though. He was being created anew, becoming something better…something whole. Being held was wonderful. Being kissed and pleasured was divine. But this…_

The man in the dream…that wonderful dream…he couldn't see his face anymore. Everything was disappearing. Fai buried his face in the vanishing fur of the toy dog, muffling his cries and keeping them secret from Kyle.

"No. I don't want to forget!"

"What are you talking about, dear?" Kyle asked as he shoved more things into Fai's arms. The puppy vanished from his grasp. He couldn't remember what he was talking about. Why was he crying? Though he could feel tears on his face, the face in the mirror was still empty of everything.

"I was…searching…for something," he mumbled despairingly. He had almost had it. But it was slipping away again. If he lost it this time…it would be gone forever.

"Don't talk nonsense. It's all here. Everything in the world you've ever cared about is all right here," the Kyle thing insisted.

No…it wasn't. Something was missing.

"_Oh, gods…__**oh, Fai!**__" he moaned desperately._

The flash of memory literally sent pain lancing through his skull. As if from another life, a young girl's voice drifted into his head, speaking words that struggled to bring memory in their wake.

"Through dangers untold…and hardships unnumbered," Fai began to speak the words, as if he had no control over his own mouth. "I have fought my way here to the castle…beyond the Goblin City…to take back the man that you have stolen…"

"What's the matter, my dear? Don't you like your toys?"

Fai hesitated for a moment, resisting the pull of the memory. What did he want? Which way?

_**Please, Fai! Remember! There's still time.**_

He was pulled from the confusion of Kyle's spell by his own reflection…something he hadn't noticed before. A vibrant red rose was tucked behind his ear. The strong, overpowering fragrance of roses filled his nose as he reached up to touch the scarlet petals.

"_I love you, Fai."_

The mage suddenly felt the press of _things_ against his body. It was a spell. "It's all junk," he said, his voice threaded with realization.

"What about this?" Kyle demanded, producing Fai's old staff from nothing. "_This_ is not junk!"

Fai gazed at the staff for a moment, uncertain of his own reality.

_Kurogane didn't speak. He simply held Fai closer. He took his chin in his hand and placed a deep, lingering kiss on his lips._

"_Please…don't disappear."_

"Yes, it is!" Fai screamed, seizing the staff and using it to smash the mirror to smithereens. Kyle vanished and the room began to collapse around him.

"I have to save Kuro-tan!"

"Fai-san! Fai-san!" he suddenly heard Sakura's gruff voice somewhere above him. It was soon joined by the twin cries of the Mokona Modoki. Fai slogged his way through the filth that surrounded him, attempting to climb out of the landfill. Before long, he felt shaggy paws grip his hands, pulling him free.

"Fai-san back!" Sakura cheered, gripping the mage in a crushing bear hug.

"Yay! Fai's okay!" the black Mokona shouted.

"Fai, guess what! We're almost there!" the white Mokona shouted, pointing towards a stretch of wall just beyond the junkyard. "Those are the gates to Goblin City!"

"Finally," Fai cried out in relief as he sank to his knees. But it wasn't just relief that sent him to the ground. He was overcome…in so many ways. Like Kurogane, he suddenly remembered everything that had occurred in their shared dream. But…was it a dream? How could it have been? He still had the rose Kurogane had given him securely tucked behind his ear. That rose had saved his life…

And…Kuro-min…had they really…made love? The wizard found himself blushing deeply at the thought. He wasn't ashamed of it…not at all. Never had he experienced anything so utterly, devastatingly beautiful. Everything he'd felt when it was happening was as real now as it was then. He really did love his Kuro-puppy. There was no getting around that fact. But…did Kurogane feel the same? The line between waking and dreaming was so distorted he could no longer be certain of anything. Either way, all of his musings would have to wait until he had gotten Kuro-pon out of the castle.

_I __**will**__ save him from Ashura_, he thought as he rose to his feet and joined Sakura and the Mokonas on the walk towards the city gates.

…_Even if he thinks of us only as friends…even if what Ashura said was true and he cares nothing at all for me…I will not abandon him._

Unbeknownst to all of them, a grimy, hunched figure lurked in the still shadows of the junkyard, watching their every move.

"Oh, no," Syaoran muttered to himself as the companions bore down on the gate. They were all in danger.

"Open up in there!" Mokona shouted, slamming its body against the closed gate. "Open up right now!"

"Mokona, please don't! You'll wake the guard," Fai hissed, nodding towards the unmoving shadow goblin. He couldn't tell if the dark thing was actually asleep, but as the creature didn't attack them on sight, he assumed that to be the case.

"Then let everyone wake up!" Mokona shouted, its little white body going slightly red with anger. "Mokona will fight them all to the death!"

"Mokona," Fai pleaded, snatching the white manjuu out of the air to stop his noise making. "For my sake, please be quiet."

"Well, if it's for Fai…" Mokona started, the red tinge now in embarrassment rather than anger. Its ears dropped despondently and the small fuzz ball suddenly looked much more like the Mokona he knew. "But…Mokona's not scared."

"I know."

"And the black Mokona is here with Mokona."

"True," Fai conceded.

"And we will _fight_ anyone, anywhere, any place, any time, an-"

Fai sighed in frustration as he placed a hand over Mokona's mouth to keep it quiet. There had to be a way through this. Just as he was about to open his own mouth to suggest something, the gates swung wide open.

"Okaaaay," Fai said slowly.

"CHARGE!" both Mokona shouted together. Mokona burst free of Fai's grip and the two went flying through the open gates. Sakura trundled along right after them. Fai hesitated briefly. Normally he would not have walked into such an obvious trap, but there was really nothing else to be done. They would just half to face whatever Ashura had in store for them and survive. The instant Fai was through, the gates slammed shut behind him.

"Well, can't say I wasn't expecting this," Fai said calmly as he stared out at the courtyard like area they found themselves in. There was the strip of bare ground on which the companions stood, and beyond that was a stretch of ground that reminded Fai of a game board. Between them and the city's inner wall were set sixteen squares of black obsidian. The only way to reach the other side was by walking across the stone tiles.

"I don't like this."

The Mokona Modoki both attempted to fly across at the same time, but they were immediately repelled by an invisible barrier.

"Nobody move," Fai ordered sternly. He had a pretty good idea of what would happen if they did this wrong. He gingerly tapped the stone in front of him with his foot. At the slight pressure, the tile cracked and crumbled away, revealing an endless, dark abyss beneath it.

"Hyuu," the magician gave his signature fake whistle as he stared down into the darkness. "That could have been bad." He then placed his foot on the tile next to the hole. This one held and Fai stepped out onto it.

"Follow right behind me, everyone. If we step on any of the wrong tiles, they'll break and we're history. We have to figure out the right path."

The Mokonas nodded, both settling onto Sakura's shoulders to prevent themselves from accidentally landing on a wrong stone. Fai surveyed his choices. There was a tile to his immediate right, his upper right, directly in front of him, and his upper left. He chose the one to the left, testing his weight on the enchanted stone before fully making the diagonal move. Sakura stepped directly onto the spot where he'd last been. This went on for a few breathless minutes, moving slowly across the floor, testing tiles, sometimes guessing right, other times guessing wrong…until at last, they were but a step away from the other side and safety (safety being a relative term here. They were entering a goblin city, after all). Fai was in the process of choosing the final block when Sakura accidentally shifted a foot and placed some weight on the cursed stone next to her. When Fai heard the telltale sound of splintering stone, he spun around to pull Sakura back but she swung her arms wide, attempting to correct her balance. Her giant, hairy limb smashed directly into Fai's midsection. The unexpected blow sent the wizard flying. He landed hard on one of the black stones. He barely had time to feel shock before the smooth black surface crumbled into dust and he fell down into darkness.

He tried to reach up, to grasp the edge as he fell. But his fingers fell just short. He closed his eyes in despair as he let himself slip away.

_I failed. It's too far…too high. I can't reach! I can't…reach him anymore. I was so close…but I failed…just like before. It's my fault again!_

But just as he was consigning himself to the final darkness of the labyrinth, to the fate he felt he deserved, he felt a hand grip his.

"Fai-san!"

_Wait. That isn't Sakura-chan's voice!_

Fai opened his eyes…and found himself staring up into Syaoran's face.

"Sy-Syaoran-kun?"

"Hold on, Fai-san! Hold on! We'll get you out!"

The mage stole a glance past the boy and saw Sakura holding tightly to his ankles. Syaoran had flung himself into the pit at the last possible moment, snatching him back from the jaws of the labyrinth. Sakura must have grabbed him as he dove in.

Fai stared confusedly into the young man's face as Sakura pulled the two of them back up. But Syaoran could not stand his gaze. He turned from him, shame coloring his face.

"Syaoran-kun, how did you-"

"I'm not looking to be forgiven, and I'm not ashamed of anything I did," he said gruffly as Sakura set them down on solid ground. "Ashura _made_ me give you that peach. I don't care what you think of me…and I'm not interested in being friends." Syaoran was ready to get up and walk out of their lives forever…when he suddenly felt Fai's arms around him in a compassionate hug.

"I forgive you, Syaoran-kun," he whispered in the boy's ear. He'd been saddened and disappointed by his betrayal…but he understood.

Syaoran pulled away from him, confusion and shock written across his face.

"Y- you do?"

Fai nodded as he stood, helping the young man to his feet.

"Syaoran-kun and Sakura friends," the gentle giant said, seizing him in a bear hug. This was not so unusual for her. What _was_ unusual was what happened when Syaoran's head hit her chest. The black feather he had tucked behind his ear began to change. It shimmered, trembled, and finally blossomed into one of the white feathers of memory that Fai knew so well. The newly transformed feather merged with Sakura and, right before their eyes, she began to change.

Her cumbersome body started to shrink. The horns withdrew into her head and the shaggy red fur began to recede, leaving soft, rosy skin in its place. The massive jaw melted away, leaving behind a fair, young face. When at last the transformation was complete, the Sakura that Fai recognized was lying, naked and exhausted, in Syaoran's arms.

Syaoran just stared down at the young woman in his arms, too shocked to speak. But, tired as she was, Sakura seemed to know what to say. She reached a hand up and pulled Syaoran's face down close to hers.

"Syaoran," she started to whisper in his ear. "Thank you." Then she pressed her lips tenderly against his. When they finally separated, he took another moment to gaze deeply into her green eyes. Then he held her shivering form tightly to his body.

"At last," he whispered, half-choking on his own tears. "You were…always with me. Why didn't I ever realize it? I'm so sorry, Sakura. It's all my fault!"

"Hush," the green-eyed girl said, laughingly placing a quieting finger to his lips. "Don't think about that now, my love. All that matters is that we're together again. You freed me, you and Fai-san both."

"Lovey lovey love birds," the black Mokona chanted in a singsong voice.

"Eh…would someone mind explaining this to me?" Fai asked as he removed his coat and draped it around Sakura's nude form.

"Sakura is…the reason I've been working for Ashura. She's what I've been searching for; her and this feather I didn't even realize I already had."

"Syaoran is the prince of our land, Clow," Sakura started to explain. "He and I grew up together, and we loved each other very much, though he was prince and I was just a lowly fortune teller's daughter."

"We were to be married," Syaoran said bitterly as he rose from the ground, pulling his love with him.

"But I just…didn't deserve him. I wished that he could find someone that was worthy of him. And…Ashura came and granted my wish. He stole me away in the middle of the night and changed me into that hideous beast, giving Syaoran the chance to find someone else."

"But I didn't_want_ someone else!" Syaoran insisted, directing that part of the narrative more towards Sakura then Fai. "I followed her here, but I was too late. Ashura said that if I wanted to break the spell I had to serve him. In the meantime, I would be allowed to search for an enchanted feather that would restore Sakura's memories and her human form. I combed the labyrinth over, keeping any feathers I happened to find. Ashura kept telling me that I didn't have the right one but…he must have been lying. That black feather was the very first one I found. But even that wouldn't have done me any good if I hadn't actually been able to find her. But you, Fai-san, you brought us back together."

"I did?"

"Yes. In the bog," Sakura said with a giggle. "And now…we're going to help you reunite with the one you care about the most."

Fai pulled both children into a hug. While it was true that they were a tech old to be considered children and they weren't _his_ children, it was just so wonderful to see them find happiness…even if it wasn't the them he knew. Maybe there was hope for the real Syaoran and the real Sakura.

"Thank you both."

"No. Thank _you_, Fai-san," Sakura returned. "I want to repay you. I can see how much this man means to you."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Syaoran started. "Let's go get that rat who calls himself Ashura!"

"YAY!" Both Mokona cheered as they led the charge into Goblin City.

XxX

Kurogane could have slapped himself. It must have been all that time with the wizard. Right now, he wanted to do something that went against all of his ninja training. He wanted to leap up and dance for joy! Fucking…dance…for joy. The mage was alive. He had survived the labyrinth, beaten Ashura's tricks without the use of his own magic, and he was on his way to the castle. They'd soon be free of this crazy place. Nothing could stop him now! Or so he thought, right up until he glanced down at Ashura, still lazing about on his throne.

"Hey, you!" he shouted down to him. "Aren't you even the least _bit_ worried? I don't know if you noticed this, but he broke your stupid spell. You won't stop him."

"Ah. Such confidence! Such _faith_ that the man you love will come striding through those doors any moment and rescue you." At that, Ashura's wacky theatrics took a drastic turn. His face instantly lost all humor and his cold, dead eyes lanced into Kurogane like twin shafts of ice. "Unfortunately, little ninja, not everyone can have their fairy tale ending. What were you expecting? To live happily ever after? Hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but it just doesn't work that way."

Admittedly, Kurogane had felt fear before. But he felt it so little that he almost didn't recognize the cold weight in his chest as Ashura turned those not-quite-sane eyes on Fai's triumphant reflection. He was afraid…afraid for Fai. What more could the Goblin King do to him?

Ashura's eyes suddenly shifted to him, as if he'd heard his thoughts.

"By entering the city, little Fai has activated the final defenses. Because he has used the forbidden dark magic, he will not be able to resist my power. The final nightmare is soon to begin. I will force you…to_destroy_ one another!"

Kurogane barely managed to suppress a gasp of shock. No! It wasn't true! He would never hurt Fai. This crazy son of a bitch couldn't force him to do anything!

"You think so? You won't have any choice in the matter. You _are _going to kill Fai," he said with such finality that for a moment, the swordsman feared that he'd already done it.

"I will _make_ you!"

XxX

(A/N) Now do I have your attention? I'm thinking one, maybe two more chapters. Our time in the labyrinth is drawing to a close. Who will emerge alive from the rubble?

I also have to refer back to the first scene once more. If our heroes seemed out of character, I suppose I was just experimenting with them. I wanted to see what they might be like without all of their usual inhibitions. It was also kind of difficult to write because they didn't have any memory, so I couldn't use any of the usual epithets because they didn't _know_ they were a mage and a ninja! The descriptors blonde and taller got sort of boring after a tick. And now, off to right chapter six…a fall down angst lane.


	6. A Wish Upon Waking

(A/N) A-noni, Eldarsevenstar, Moro-chan, Kingleby, and Slivershell, thanks again for your wonderful thoughts on my story. Everyone else…you guys really don't like reviewing, do you? Maybe I'm just deluding myself into thinking that the story is that popular, but I sincerely doubt that five of you managed to wrack the hit count up by two hundred. Meh, oh well, at least the story has hits. Maybe you'll all have something to say now that we've come to the last chapter. Yes, the story really is coming to a close. I can hardly believe it myself. I've never had a story idea pan out so fast. On the subject of this being the last chapter, it took about a week longer to write than I expected. I just wanted it to be as perfect as possible, since it _is_ the end.

Speaking of the end, I have two very funny stories to soften the blow. I was out driving the other day and I saw this car in front of me. The three letters on its license plate were NIH and I automatically think "Nihon"! Who wouldn't? Tee-hee. But that's not what makes it a funny story. The creepy part is that the very next day (not even kidding) I saw a license plate with the letters CEL and instantly thought "Celes"! Is that something spooky, or what? The other thing is something that happened on Youtube. I was video surfing, as is my wont on Wednesday evenings and stumbled across a tribute to Fai. It caught my interest because the summary started with "OMG! HES NOT GAY! STOP SAYING HES GAY! (or something to that effect) Fai has Chi. There was that beautiful episode that had them together." I saw that and I seriously started laughing. Episode?! Lol, that's rich. Let's all ask "the anime" what cannon is. I apologize if anyone takes offense to that. It just happens to be my opinion on the subject. Besides, I imagine that if you've gotten this far in the story, you wouldn't be particularly partial to FaiChi anyway. And yes, the chapter title has the same name as the sixth Tsubasa DVD. I couldn't help it. I thought it was such a cool title.

**Warnings: **There is a lemon in this chapter, but after having received no complaints about the last one, I don't feel compelled to say where it is. I imagine if it bothers some people, they can tell when they should stop reading and when to start again. There are also one or two slight spoilers up to chapter 182, if you haven't read that far in the manga. Nothing that will kill you should you learn it. There is also a great deal of line stealing in this chapter. If you recognize the sources of my thievery, then you automatically get the assurance that you are extremely cool. Cheers!

Well, enjoy the last chapter. Hope it's not too long for anyone's taste.

**The Center Of The Labyrinth**

_Chapter 6: A Wish Upon Waking_

Their first steps were uninhibited as Fai and his companions moved into Goblin City. Everything was quiet. Not a single living thing stirred…and that was what Fai found disturbing.

"I don't like this," he whispered for the second time that day.

"Where is everyone?" Sakura asked.

"Obviously they heard the Mokona Modoki were coming and got scared," Mokona announced, puffing its chest out with pride.

As if that thoughtless comment about their cowardice had called them, a swarm of shadow goblins swept down upon them. The city was suddenly filled with writhing, shrieking shadows. Before long they were completely surrounded.

"Eh…maybe that scared crack was a bit out of line," Fai said, smiling apologetically at the wall of seething shadow that surrounded them. But they would not be pacified. The shadows came at our heroes all at once, fangs and claws forming out of the breathing darkness. Syaoran, Sakura, and the Mokona siblings all used magic to fight off the shadows. Fai was the only one who had nothing to fight with. So he would dodge any attacks aimed at him, though he knew that he couldn't dodge forever.

Syaoran was the first to realize that Fai was defenseless and immediately jumped in to help him out. Sakura was not far behind. Fai found it interesting to watch the fighting style of this Sakura. The Sakura he knew was shy and demure and, as far as he knew, had no real fighting ability. This Sakura was not shy in the least. If Sakura-hime had been in this situation she wouldn't have been able to fight for fear of her modesty. This Sakura did not seem to care one way or the other. Whenever she performed one of her powerful magic attacks, Fai's coat would occasionally fly back. But this didn't seem to bother her. She fought on…until the poisoned fangs of one of the demons pierced the delicate skin of her neck.

"SAKURA!" Syaoran screamed as she fell, immediately moving to catch her. The Mokona quickly moved to cover the young couple. Fai stood, watching them, unable to move.

"Sakura…hime?" he whispered, suddenly overcome with memory. He was back in the arena…his blade buried in Sakura's chest, his face covered in her blood. He hadn't been able to stop it…just like now.

"Sakura! Sakura, can you hear me?" Syaoran shouted desperately.

"I'm…sorry," she whispered, reaching a hand up to his face. The poison was fast.

"No! Don't talk like this, Sakura! You can't give up! Stay with me," he pleaded, hugging her body to his chest.

_You can stop this. You know you can._

Fai stiffened when he heard the voice. Ashura? The staff? He wasn't sure anymore.

_It could heal her._

"I…I lov-" Sakura's voice died away mid-sentence. Her head flopped hopelessly to the side.

"NOOOO!" Syaoran screamed.

_It's not too late. You could save her…and defeat the goblin army._

"NO!" Fai screamed, dropping to his knees and clutching his head in his hands. He had _sworn_ not to use the staff again. "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

_Tell me, how do you propose to fight creatures with no physical bodies? Will you really let her die…again? _

Fai suddenly felt hands around his waist. He knew no one was there, but he could still feel the hands as they snaked up his body, over his shoulders, and down his arms to firmly grasp his hands. Then the staff appeared in them. He half collapsed into the arms that held him, but still they forced him to hold the dark staff.

"SAKURA! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!" he heard Syaoran screaming.

_NO!_ Another voice sounded in his head. _If you do this, there's no going back. I don't want to lose you!_

Unfortunately, the other voice was louder.

_If you __**don't**__ do this, then __**you**__ will lose __**him**__…forever._

That was all it took. Fai took the staff firmly in hand as he rose to his feet.

_DO IT!_

Fai turned the staff towards Sakura and fired a quick blast of healing energy towards her. He tried to maintain control of the staff as he turned to face the shadow army, but it was no use. The staff had him completely in its power.

Fai was gone.

XxX

"So, Kurogane, what do you think of my creation?" Ashura asked smugly.

Truth be told, Kurogane was horrified at his "creation", but that did not show on his face. The only thing to be seen on the surface was anger.

"What have you done to him?"

"Me, personally? Not a thing. I merely started the process by giving him the staff. It was his choice to use the power. Little Fai brought this upon himself."

Choice? What choice? There had been no choice at all. Ashura had backed him into a corner, leaving him no other option. Even though Fai was not a vampire here, Kurogane imagined that it would look something like this if the vampire in him ever went berserk. Prominent fangs grew from his mouth and killing claws sprouted from his fingers. His movements were more fluid than normal, more animalistic. His beautiful blue eyes were gone, replaced by fiery gold; and just as there was no blue to be seen in those eyes, neither was there any humanity. Fai was no longer using the staff; _it_ was using _him_. It pained the ninja to see the mage this way. Kurogane wanted Fai back. He wanted _his_ Fai back.

"Bring him _back_!" he hissed dangerously.

"I cannot do that. The power of the staff is a law unto itself. I simply gave it life."

"Can he…ever come back?" the swordsman asked, uncertain for the barest of moments.

"Oh, I hope so. I want to see the look on his face when he kills you. I want to watch the light leave his eyes."

Kurogane pounded a fist helplessly against the glass, expressing his rage in the only way left to him. It wasn't the thought of his own death that scared him. He did not fear to die. What _did_ scare him was the thought of what his death would do to Fai…especially if it was by his own hand. Not only would the magician die without his blood but judging from what he'd seen these past twelve hours, such a thing would destroy him from the inside out. Let Ashura do with him what he liked…he could bear it; but he could not bear to see Fai hurt…not anymore.

"No more," he said. His voice held a quiet command in it.

"What was that? I didn't quite catch it," the Goblin king sneered as he lowered the cage to ground level.

Kurogane lowered himself to his knees within the crystalline sphere, holding his hands out before him in the manner of a suppliant. It felt so damn awkward. He had never thrown himself on _anyone's_ mercy…not ever! But now, he was past caring. Honor be damned. Fai was too important for that.

"Please," he began calmly. "Let me go to him. He won't come here while he's like this and I know that's what you want. Let me try to bring him back."

Ashura seemed to consider the plea a moment…then turned that same wicked sneer on the warrior.

"You really do care for him? Are you willing…to give up your life for him?"

"Yes," he answered without hesitation.

"All right then. Go on, little Kurogane, bring him back…if you think you can."

Kurogane's eyes widened briefly. He had expected many things to come of his request, but this was not one of them. Why was he letting him go? What was the catch?

"What are you waiting for? The longer you wait, the more likely it is that you will lose him forever. Your voice might be the only thing that _can_ call him back. Go."

XxX

Syaoran had seen many things during his time in the labyrinth. But never in all his young life had he seen such wanton destruction. Goblin City was in ruins. The army of shadow goblins had fled in fright before the power of the staff. But Fai had still managed to destroy a great deal of them. When the mage no longer had them to slay, he turned his lust for destruction upon the city itself. Now, instead of shadow, the party was surrounded by fire, smoke, and rubble. Syaoran was grateful that Fai had managed to heal Sakura before losing control but she was still weak…and he was honestly afraid of what Fai would do when he ran out of things to destroy. Would he turn on them? Would he be able to protect Sakura?

"Syaoran?" Sakura coughed weakly. "What's that coming towards us?"

The young man glanced in the direction that she was pointing and saw a dark figure moving towards them through the flames. As it drew nearer, the figure took on a distinctly human shape.

"It's him!" Syaoran gasped in shock. "The ninja!"

"Mage!" the powerful swordsman shouted once he was within earshot of the berserker. The beast ceased its rampage, not out of recognition, for indeed, there was no recognition of him to be seen in its eyes. It was the power, the insistence in the voice that caught its attention. A challenge! Fresh meat! Something new to destroy!

Kurogane extended the unsheathed Sohi towards the creature. Unfortunately, Ashura had not allowed him the use of a sheath. He would have preferred not to risk the naked blade around the wizard when he was in this state. However, he would work with what he had. He stared intently into the eyes of the creature that had taken Fai from him.

"I know you're still in there. I _will_ have you back. We're going home together." All of this was spoken in a firm, calm voice.

The recognition did not show in the bloodthirsty eyes of the possessed thing, but at the sound of these soothing words, Fai suddenly felt _himself_ stirring beneath the conscience of the staff. He found himself gazing out at Kurogane through his own eyes, unable to speak to him, unable to go to him and warn him to run…that he was far too late. But he could do nothing. His body was not his own.

_Please, Kuro-min, run! Just run! You can't save me. It's too dangerous!_

The Fai creature sprang forward, shooting bolts of lightening at Kurogane as it closed the distance between them. Kurogane easily dodged them all. Almost faster than the eye could track, it was above him, bringing the staff down to crush his skull. He quickly raised his sword to guard against the blow. Sparks flew as steel clashed with magic. Once again, he locked eyes with the beast. He could feel its lust for his blood in the way their weapons pressed together, each struggling for dominance. Against his will, the swordsman felt rage rising in his chest. This _thing_ wasn't Fai!

"GIVE HIM BACK!" he screamed, allowing his anger to overcome him. He pressed forward with Sohi, forcing the creature back. Quickly, he pressed his advantage, slashing the blade forward, putting all the power he possessed behind it.

The demon fell back as the blade slashed its chest. A sharp cry left its lips and suddenly, it was no longer just the creature…it was Fai. Kurogane took a step back, shocked at what he'd done. Fai was still in there. How could he have forgotten that? Horror swept through him as he stared down at his blade. What had he always told the kid? If you aren't careful you can cut what you don't mean to cut. He was only too aware of the depths of his own taste for blood. Well…he would not give into it this time. He would pull Fai back from the darkness…even if it cost him his own life.

Kurogane gazed at the wound in Fai's chest. The demon was so enraged by the attack that it wasn't even taking time to heal it. Blood was seeping freely from it, coating his front with blood. Fai was not in any immediate danger but that slash could prove fatal if not tended to properly. Once he had taken stock of this, Kurogane raised his sword high above his head…and flung it with all his might, as far as he could. The weapon disappeared into the flames. That done, he locked eyes with Fai once more.

"I won't raise a blade to you while you're like this. You might kill me…I know. And I know that I could have easily beaten you with Sohi…but then you would have been hurt…and I couldn't _bear_ that."

The real Fai heard him. The expression on the ninja's face hadn't changed, but Fai was just beginning to realize how well he understood the language of his eyes. They said so much now…things too deep and personal to be captured with mere words.

_I love you. I'll always protect you…even if my life ends tonight._

_NO! PLEASE!_ Fai screamed inside his own head. _I love you, too! For god's sake, Kuro-sama, run! Don't stay here and die! I __**BEG**__ YOU!_

But the beast inside him was moved neither by his desperate cries nor Kurogane's impassioned words. A cruel sneer twisted its face as it sprang forward, seizing the defenseless man by the throat. Even as the life was choked from him, Kurogane weakly reached up both hands and placed them on the arm that held him.

"Please," he whispered. "Wake up."

_YOU FOOL! _Fai continued screaming, trying his hardest to break the staff's hold on him. _Don't die, damn you! Fight! Why won't you fight?!_

_There!_ Kurogane thought triumphantly as his vision started to grow dark around the edges. For a split second, a flash of blue amongst the molten gold. For that last moment, the face he loved was before him, even if it was awash with terror. For that hairsbreadth of time, the vice around his neck loosened. But the next instant, the demon was back, forcing its claws into his chest and tearing the beating heart from within.

When he felt Kurogane's lifeless bulk slump forward in his grip, when he felt the last breath escape his lungs, when he saw the light leave his red eyes, leaving them wide open and empty…Fai lost it.

_NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!_

The demon reacted to his anguish. It went even crazier than before. Insane, inhuman cries escaped its mouth and it tore at the wound in its chest, spilling more blood. Fai and the staff were truly of one mind now, wanting nothing more than to be lost in destruction. And the only things left to destroy were…his companions. The beast picked up the staff from where it had fallen during the scuffle and charged the others.

"Fai-san!" Syaoran cried out as he drew his own sword, leaping forward to defend Sakura. "Stop! Remember who you are!"

"WHY?!" the creature screamed as it shot blast after blast of searing magic at the young man. He dodged them all and still managed to deflect everything away from Sakura. But he knew that he wouldn't be able to keep it up forever…not against such awesome power.

"I WANT TO DIE!" Fai's true voice broke through the creature's enraged screaming.

_Please, someone…anyone! Give me death! Slay me! Send me…to be with Kurogane. Let us be together at last!_

_Fai._

The tormented wizard suddenly heard the ninja's voice in his head, felt his presence around him as surely as if he stood beside him. He collapsed, as if he couldn't support himself any more. He curled into a ball and sobbed broken-heartedly. With the sudden loss of his spiritual rage, the demon possessing Fai's body dropped weakly to its knees.

_Kurogane! I'm sorry…so sorry. I couldn't control…I couldn't stop it! It's my fault again. I've destroyed everything! Forgive me! Please forgive me for what I've done to you! I- I killed you. Oh dear gods, I killed you! I murdered you with my own two hands._

_Shh._

Fai suddenly felt warm arms around him, holding him close, rocking him gently. Lips pressed against his ear, whispering comforting nothings to him.

_It wasn't you. You mustn't think that it was._

Fai kept his eyes tightly closed. He didn't want to wake and confirm that he was hallucinating…the last cruel dream of a mind before slipping irrevocably into madness. This small comfort just made him cry all the harder, knowing that he would never truly feel these arms around him ever again.

_Shh. Don't cry. I'm here now. We're here together. Just hold onto me._

Fai held onto the warm body, even though he knew it wasn't there. He wanted to freeze this moment in time, to hold it and never let it slip away from him. In this last moment, he could pretend that Kurogane was still alive, that he would not have to face a life without him in it.

_Please_, he begged. _Let my last moment be this one. Let me dream forever of you. Don't leave me!_

_I'm not going anywhere. I'll always be with you. _

_Don't say that! Don't say goodbye! _

_That isn't exactly what I meant._

_Can't you…wait just a little longer? I won't be long. Let me come with you._

Fai suddenly felt the embrace tighten around him, almost to the point of a stranglehold._ Stop right there, mage! You don't get it, do you? No one's dying. You never killed me._

_What are you talking about?_

_Open your eyes_. The ninja's voice was gentle again. Fai shook his head, not wanting to see the reality.

_Fai_, the strangely gentle voice came again. Gentle, but firm. It did not invite debate. Fai finally opened his eyes…and found that Kurogane was really there with him, holding him and smiling down at him.

_Is it…really you?_ He whispered, hardly daring to hope. Kurogane leaned down and rested his forehead against Fai's.

_Yes. I'm really here with you, speaking to you in spirit._

_But, then…what happened? What did I-?_

_That thing you destroyed wasn't really me. It was a puppet created by Ashura to torment you. It acted exactly like me. I tried to act through it but…I don't really have this whole magic, spiritual thing down yet. I'm still alive up in the castle._

_Thank heaven!_ The mage half-screamed, burying himself in the swordsman's embrace, the tears pouring down his face now tears of joy rather than sorrow. _I was so afraid, Kuro-rin. I thought-_

_Shh_, Kurogane shushed him yet again, holding him tighter to comfort him. _I know what you thought. It's all right. I'm right here. I won't leave you again. _

_But…what can we do? I can't beat this thing._

_Yes, you can. You have to._

_How?_

_Hell, Fai, if you don't know how to fight magic, who does? All I know is battle. I know that strategy is its own strength. Maybe you can't outmatch Ashura in strength of magic, but nothing is unbeatable. When facing an opponent, you use his own strength against him. We have to find out what Ashura's weak point is. That's how you defeat this thing._

Fai pondered the ninja's words as Kurogane pulled him into a sitting position. He half-expected him to let go once that was done, but he didn't. His arms remained loosely draped around his waist and shoulders. He blushed lightly when he realized that he was, in fact, sitting in Kurogane's lap. He leaned slightly into the embrace, savoring the feeling of the swordsman's chest rising and falling against his back. For that brief moment, all other thoughts were driven from his mind. He was just so relieved to be able to feel his heartbeat, so grateful to know that he was still alive, nothing else seemed to matter. Unfortunately, his happiness was soon tainted by something foul. The feeling of Kurogane's arms around him carried him straight back to the dream swamp…to the nightmare where he was pinned beneath Kurogane and the warrior wanted nothing but his body. He stiffened, suddenly afraid that he was dreaming again and this warmth would be ripped away from him, replaced by uncaring eyes and a false touch.

Kurogane had been thinking the same warm thoughts as Fai. He'd been thanking whatever deity there was that he'd been able to reach Fai's heart before he'd been driven completely over the edge…even though he still had no idea how he'd managed to pull it off. He'd been expecting the mage to pull away from him, but was happily surprised when he did not. Hesitantly, he let his chin rest on his head, happy that Fai was facing away from him so he couldn't see the tinge of red that he couldn't manage to control. He had to resist the urge to hold the wizard tighter. Even as a small, tender smile worked its way onto his stern face, he couldn't keep his mind from drifting into the darker possibilities…of what might have happened if he hadn't been able to intervene. Would Fai have disappeared…forever?

Suddenly, Kurogane felt the mage stiffen in his arms and all of those dark thoughts immediately jumped to the front of his mind. Fai was fragile right now. Even the tiniest tip in the balance of power could break him. His safety was what was important right now…not his own confused feelings.

_What's wrong?_ He asked, willing his overprotective arms to stay loose around the magician's body.

_Kuro-pin…why did you come here?_

Kurogane sighed, slightly frustrated. Did he really have to ask?

_I came because you needed me. Ashura couldn't keep me locked up forever. I wanted to protect you. I…always want to be here for you…if you need me._

_And why…do you feel the need to protect __**me**?_

Yet another sigh escaped the swordsman. Here it was. The moment he had been dreading and anticipating…the moment he had been hoping would not come, and at the same time, the one thing he wanted above everything else. He was a man of actions, not words, and with Fai, the few words that he had did not come easily. He wanted so badly to bare his heart before this man, to tell him the truth and give him everything that he was…but the words just wouldn't come. This was not the dream. There were other things in his head besides Fai's blinding smile. But…even those things were becoming less and less important when measured up against his realization that, even if everything _had_ been a dream, that smile was real. He wanted that smile back.

_Because…I care for you. More…than life itself…I care for you. I couldn't stand back and watch that crazy bastard hurt you anymore._

Fai began to weep silently, one eye shedding salt, the other shedding sweet water. It was the answer he'd secretly longed for…and that was going to make things all the harder. He loved Kurogane. He _loved_ him. He always had. He had known it the moment their eyes met in Yuko's shop. Of course, he hadn't always known exactly what it was that he felt for the ninja. He hadn't recognized it for what it was until that moment he woke up in Tokyo, saw the concern in his normally stoic face, and knew, even in the very moment he was acknowledging his love, that he could never have it. And now…now he knew that Kurogane returned his feelings. The web of lies that the Labyrinth had attempted to spin around his heart only served to affirm the warrior's feelings for him. Now…at the very moment he should be embracing him, kissing him and telling him how much he loved him, Fai could feel his heart breaking within his chest. Ashura may have lied about many things, but there was one thing he'd said that Fai knew to be true. His own happiness destroyed the happiness of others. Back in Tokyo he had sworn that he would not allow himself to fall in love with Kurogane. If there was love, there would only be pain for both of them…and Kurogane would come out worse because of him. He had broken his own vow. He had unwittingly let himself fall head-over-heals in love. He had ruined everything. Certainly the swordsman had proved his own love time and time again, but now he would have to make this dream end…for both of them. He loved Kurogane enough to give him up, though it would shatter him to do so. He wanted his puppy to be happy, even if it removed him from the picture. The only way to save Kurogane from his curse was to break his own heart. Perhaps…Kurogane could wake up and he could remain asleep, dreaming forever of love and never actually knowing it…never able to hurt anyone again. But before that could happen, he had to rescue him from the castle, and in order to do that he had to call on his love for the other man. It was the one thing the Goblin King did not understand…the only thing that might be able to stand against the power of the dark staff.

Kurogane was just starting to feel Fai's tears drip down onto his arms and was about to ask him what was wrong when the wizard started to speak again.

_I don't think I'll ever understand it. Are we dreaming…or in reality…or…_he trailed off.

_Or maybe somewhere in between_, he suggested, giving the mage a tight hug. As his grip loosened, Fai seized the hand that held his shoulder and brought it to his face, fondly caressing it.

_You've no idea how long I've wanted to hear you say it_, he whispered, more tears leaking from his eyes as he kissed each fingertip.

_Say what?_

_That you care for me, _he said, finally turning to face him. He was aware that this was mostly likely the last chance he would have to talk with him before everything ended. _I…care for you, too, Kuro-tan. I want for you to be safe and happy…no matter what. So…will you please help me break Ashura's spell?_

Kurogane didn't like the way Fai made his request. It sounded too much like the magician was saying goodbye to him. But still…if he had a way for them to escape, then he would help. Hesitantly, he leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on Fai's cheek. He wanted to do more, but he was afraid of breaking this fragile path they had forged together. He didn't want to drive the man away by being too rash.

_I don't know what I __**can**__ do to help you, mage. But I'll do whatever you ask._

_Just be here. Stay with me. Hold onto me. Let me feel you near me. Let me know…that there's someone for me to love…who loves me in return._

Kurogane nodded his consent and hugged the mage again. It wasn't so impossible a request. In fact, it was more of a reward than a demand. But, just as Fai was turning away from him, the ninja had the strangest feeling that he would not see him again. Acting purely on instinct, he turned Fai back around, seized his chin, and pressed his lips against his in a brief, frightened kiss. He didn't understand why, but somehow he knew that he couldn't let this moment pass them by…unconsummated.

Fai made a small whimpering sound against his lips. He gave into the kiss for that brief moment, but then he pulled away, breathing hard and hiding his face against Kurogane's chest.

_Kuro-rin_, he murmured softly. _Thank you_.

Kurogane could tell that there was much unsaid within him, but Fai did not look at him after that. He turned to face the other way, still seated in the warrior's lap. He easily wrapped his arms around the wizard's body just as he'd asked him to do, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Fai raised his hands, calling down power, and Kurogane held him as tightly as he could, pressing their two heartbeats together as one. Light built around them and the staff appeared in his hands. The swordsman could feel both of their souls shake as the forces of light and darkness battled in the space created by Fai's magic. Slowly but surely, Fai felt his own mind come into possession of his body. Kurogane was no longer visible outside of the astral plane but he could still feel his presence as surely as if he still held him in his arms. He leaned into the support of that presence, calling on every strong emotion he'd ever felt for the ninja and the little family they'd all built together.

"I love you, Kurogane…with all my heart," he whispered, channeling the strength of that love into the staff. The dark thing wavered for a moment…and then shattered into a million pieces, banishing the darkness from him.

_How did you do it?_ He heard Kurogane's voice in his head.

"Darkness has no place where there is love. You…and Sakura…and Syaoran…all taught me that," he answered, smiling in exhaustion. For a brief instant, he knelt there on the ground, breathing in their triumph…but the next moment, everything was lost.

Fai's senses were suddenly overrun with pain and his mind was filled with the incessant buzzing of the labyrinth. It filled him up until it was everywhere and everything and there was nothing but the buzzing.

"AAAAAAAAAAH! NOOO! STOP THE NOISE!" he screamed helplessly, clutching his head in his hands as he collapsed to the ground.

_What's happening?!_ Kurogane shouted. Then he heard Ashura's voice in his own head.

_Don't you remember? That staff not only endowed little Fai with powerful magic, it also protected him from the magic of the labyrinth. Without the staff, he is weak, too weak to hold up his own mental shields. The labyrinth will burn away at his brain until he dies._

_NO!_

_You just __**try**__ stopping it,_ Ashura taunted him mercilessly.

Fai, meanwhile, was writhing on the ground in agony. The magic was draining his very essence away and he had no strength to fight it. Images attacked his mind. Kurogane, Sakura, Syaoran…all murdered. Fai's broken body…the accusing eyes. His own vampiric claws holding Kurogane's still-beating heart. Ashura-ou…run through. Sakura…stabbed. All of Celes cut down by someone they trusted. The murdered, broken bodies of a thousand innocent people decried as sinners by an insane man. A tower, tall beyond measure…its cold bricks stained with his own blood…endless snow…frozen hearts. His father, reduced to a rotten corpse by a wasting illness. His mother, hanging from the ceiling…smiling. Kurogane run through with an ice spear…Kurogane! A hand reaching, ripping his eye from his head. Blood pouring down his throat. The metallic tang of it as he drained the life from the only man he'd ever loved. Endless pain. Kurogane bleeding to death in his arms. KUROGANE!

"NOOO! PLEASE, NO! I DON'T WANT TO REMEMBER THIS! I DON'T _WANT_ THESE MEMORIES!"

**But they are yours, nonetheless,** the buzzing magic screeched in his head. **Do you want to be rid of them? Then give yourself over to me. Forget that you ever were. Let me climb into your very soul and claim you for my own. Come lie with me in the darkness…forever.**

Fai tried to resist, but he was too weak. The magic was inside him, erasing him, bleeding away everything he ever was or would be.

"It's…eating…my mind…Kuro-chan," he moaned pitifully. "What…can I do?"

_Nothing_.

Ashura…Goblin King.

"No," the dying mage mumbled feebly. "Not…you. I want…Kuro-sama."

_What are you talking about, magic boy? I'm right here! Can't you feel me?_

"Can't…see you…can't…touch…" his voice trailed off into nothing as his eyes slid closed. His body continued to struggle but the movements were growing weaker and weaker.

_He's fading fast, little ninja!_

_NO!_ This couldn't happen! He wouldn't let it! But…what could he do?

"Kuro-pii…where are you?" he whimpered, his voice growing fainter, everything cascading ever faster into oblivion.

_Fai…I'm here! I'm __**right here**!_ His non-corporeal form was kneeling right beside the fallen man and yet he had never felt farther away from him. He vaguely noticed the presence of the wizard's other companions around them, but their cries did not register in his fevered mind. Nothing else mattered right now. He couldn't just let Fai slip away like this.

_Damn it, Fai! Don't do this to me! You __**can't**__ give up now! TELL ME WHAT I CAN DO TO SAVE YOU!_ He was screaming now, his hard-won control gone in the blink of an eye. He couldn't let it end like this! After everything…the clone, Reed's curses, Ashura…he was _not_ losing Fai to this fucked up King of the Goblins. But…no sword he could wield…no amount of strength he could gain...none of that could ever stand up to the magic of the labyrinth. Of what benefit was his great strength, what was it good for, if it could not save him?

_Magic is really very simple;_ he suddenly heard Tomoyo-hime's voice in his head, calling out to him from some long-forgotten memory. _All you have to do is want something badly enough…then make it happen._

Hadn't he been doing that all along? Did he not want Fai enough? Had he not sacrificed enough for him? Had he not given enough proof of his love? Was everything…just not enough? Was more still required? He would pay whatever price was asked of him. Whatever power still needed proof of his need for the mage…he would prove himself over and over again. He would give up however much of himself as was needed to be with Fai. What more could he do to prove that he wanted to save his life?

Or…was he overcomplicating this? Was it as simple as…?

**Would you have his worthless life spared?** This voice was different. Not Ashura's…the labyrinth?

_He's __**not**__ worthless_, Kurogane insisted angrily.

**Can you save the boy from himself? What is he worth to you?**

_Everything_, the warrior answered without hesitation. He smirked to himself, realizing how much like the kid he sounded. But he couldn't help how sappy the words were. They were nothing but the truth. _He's everything to me._

**You say that you will kill anyone who tries to take away the people you care about. Are you willing to slay your own self…for the sake of the one whom you love most of all? If you wish to see those eyes open…then you must give all of yourself.**

_I will do it._

Kurogane moved to straddle Fai's body, leaning down very close to his face.

_I __**will**__ protect you…always._

Fai's eyes snapped open as he felt the buzzing pressure lift from him. It was replaced by an intense, tingling pressure against his lips. A kiss? For a brief instant, he could see blazing red eyes gazing unflinchingly into his.

"Kuro-tan?" he whispered faintly.

_What? You didn't believe me? What kind of idiot are you?_ His voice sounded strained.

_**Yuui of Valeria…Fai D. Fluorite of Celes…Do you hear me?**_

"Tomoyo-hime?"

_**Yes, it's me. Your time is almost up. Surely by now you've realized that there is someone who does not want you to disappear forever. If you don't go to him now, then **__**he**__** will disappear forever. Rise and reforge your shields.**_

"My…shields?" Fai muttered slowly, his mind only just recovering from its near death experience. He didn't hear the princess' voice after that, but he was slowly starting to understand what it was that she was trying to tell him.

_Kuro-pipi…are you still here?_ He asked, calling out with his soul instead of his voice.

Kurogane could barely hear the magician calling out to him. He was feeling like he had taken the entire goddamn labyrinth on his shoulders. Indeed, he had done something like that. He had placed his own soul around Fai's mind like a shield. Tomoyo had been right. The magic had been as simple as his desire to protect him. It wasn't pain he was feeling now. Lacking a body, he could not feel pain. It was more like slow suffocation…being slowly buried under tons and tons of earth. He would hold himself as a shield for as long as he was able, but he was no longer certain how long he could last. Before long the weight of the labyrinth would shatter his very being into nothingness.

_I'm here, mage,_ he grunted. _But you've got to hurry. I don't know how long I can keep this up._

_Just what are you doing?_ Fai asked. Kurogane noted the rising panic in his voice.

_Holding back the labyrinth. If we both want to get out of here, you need to pull up your own shields and get your ass up to the castle._

Fai wanted to be angry with him for recklessly throwing himself into the path of so much raw magic, but he knew that Tomoyo was right. Little time remained. Quickly, he pulled his magic back around him, warding his mind against the labyrinth. He could almost feel Kurogane exhale as he released his grip on the magic.

_NOOOOOO!_

The instant Kurogane heard the scream of rage he was torn away from Fai. As he was slammed back into his own head, he heard his glass prison shatter around him. He fell the short distance to the floor, slamming painfully into the hard stone. The next thing he knew, Ashura had seized him by the throat and was glaring into his eyes.

"Damn you, you meddlesome ninja! You weren't supposed to actually be able to _help_ him! Fai was mine! He was within my grasp! You'll pay for this!"

Kurogane smirked defiantly at the Goblin King. He would have wrenched himself free of his grasp and stood on his own were it not for the fact that his head was still spinning mercilessly from the trip back into his body. But still he kept that defiant gaze on his captor, plainly telling him that he'd lost.

"Oh, I think not. I still have a trump card waiting in the wings. No more games, little Kurogane. Do you remember how I said that next time I would not hold back?"

The swordsman didn't even have time to think before he was born away on a wave of pain. Kurogane was gone, swallowed up by pain. This time, he could not help it.

He screamed.

XxX

Fai was aware of his absence the second Kurogane was ripped away from him. He sat up and glanced around, confused by the sudden loss of his warmth. The next moment, he felt Sakura's arms around him.

"Oh, Fai-san. Thank goodness, you're all right!"

Fai was about to respond when loud screams suddenly echoed down to them from the castle. For a moment, it did not sink in, but then his eyes widened in terror as he began to realize just who it was that was screaming.

"Kurogane!" he cried through a dry throat. He jumped to his feet, pulling Sakura with him.

"Wait! You mustn't get up yet," Syaoran insisted, reaching out a hand to steady the mage. When he could stand on his own, both children backed away from him.

"I have to help him," Fai said quietly, his voice filled with resolution.

"Finally! On to battle Ashura! Charge!" Mokona cheered, ready to race ahead. But Fai easily plucked it and its twin out of the air.

"I'm sorry, Mokona. But I have to face Ashura alone."

"But why?" Sakura asked. "He's dangerous! You'll need our help."

"I can't ask that of you. I'll be fine. Besides…this is the way it has to be done."

"Well," Mokona started slowly. "If this is the way it has to be done, then Mokona supposes that this is the way Fai must do it…but…if you need us…"

"Yes," Syaoran continued. "Should you need us…for any reason at all…"

"I'll call," Fai assured them before gathering the four into a big hug. "Thank you all for everything. I could never have gotten this far without all of your help. Please, get to safety. Find a way back to your own land."

"Fai-san," Sakura started, taking his hand in hers as Syaoran and the Mokona began to move away through the smoke and fire. "Thank you…for saving my life."

Fai seized Sakura in a brief, tight hug. He had no right to accept thanks from Sakura, no matter which version of her it was, but he still took comfort from the small gesture.

"You're welcome, my princess. Now go. Get yourself out."

Sakura seemed a touch confused by the title he'd bestowed upon her, but she finally took it to mean that he was simply wishing her and her prince a happy future. Giving the wizard a quick kiss on the cheek, she turned and ran to join Syaoran. The last he saw of them was the young lovers joining hands as they disappeared into the night. Then Fai turned and started to move quickly towards the dark castle…towards his own future.

_Come to me, little Fai. Step into my web…your grave._

XxX

Fai took a moment to compose his fevered thoughts in the raging quiet just outside of the great hall. He felt extremely light-headed…probably due to the blood loss. The screams had ceased awhile back as he'd made his way through the darkened corridors and he was afraid of what he might find on the other side of the double doors. Was Kurogane…?

_What are you waiting for, child? Are you afraid? You and I both know you're out there. Why don't you come inside and we can all have a nice chat._

Fai swallowed one last time before finally moving forward and shoving the giant wooden doors open and forging ahead into the hall. As his eyes swept the room, his heart leapt into his throat. For a moment, he feared that he was too late.

Kurogane was hanging from the ceiling…but not in the same way his mother had been. He was bound hand and foot by some strange yellow substance. The ropey material was arranged around his neck in such a way that if his other bonds were removed, it would snap his neck. Thorny vines covered with roses were intertwined with the blonde stuff and these, too, were wrapped around his limbs. Occasionally, the naked thorns would dig into patches of exposed skin, drawing thin trickles of blood. What scared Fai most was that he wasn't moving. His head hung down, resting hopelessly against his chest. His only comfort was the fact that he could still see the slight rise and fall of his chest as he drew breath. There was no sign of Ashura.

Fai knelt down and grabbed a handful of the silken blonde substance. It was everywhere, filling the room. He rubbed the stuff between his fingers…and half choked on the realization.

"My god, it's-"

"Your hair," Ashura's voice suddenly sounded out of nowhere. Fai's gaze darted around the room but the Goblin King was still nowhere to be seen. "You foolishly gave of yourself to the labyrinth…and my labyrinth uses what it takes."

Fai sank despairingly to his knees. He had never seen Kurogane looking so utterly helpless. Even in sleep, the ninja normally carried himself with quiet strength. Now…his usual sense of awareness was gone. He hung limply in the grip of his bonds. His face, usually so hard, so intuitive, was now riddled with pain. His body shook with every ragged, shallow breath he struggled to take.

"Fai…" he whispered, his voice barely audible. The sound broke the magician.

"Please," he cried. "Let him go. I did what you said. I solved the labyrinth. Why are you hurting him? We had a deal! A fucking _deal_! Do you hear me? Keep me here if you want, but let him go home!"

"As usual, you are wrong, little wizard. You may have solved the labyrinth, but you've not yet defeated it. You haven't defeated me."

Fai stiffened as he felt arms wrap themselves around his waist. This time they were real. He suddenly found himself sitting in Ashura's lap, with the King of the Goblins holding him the exact same way Kurogane had held him not ten minutes ago.

"You do understand what it is that's killing him, don't you?" the king whispered in his ear as his hands traced delicately over his body. "The hair is you, of course. But the roses? What could they possibly be there for?"

Fai shook his head, trying to block out the image and the disgusting feeling of Ashura's hands on him.

"Those roses represent his love for you. Minute by minute, their thorns drink his blood dry. It's you…you and his love for you…that will kill him in the end. Can't you see that your love would be so much better off if you were dead?"

Fai hung his head in despair. He knew it to be true. The undeniable proof was right before his eyes. Kurogane wouldn't even _be_ here if it weren't for him.

"How unfaithful you are, little Fai. You swore not to love him…and yet we have the proof of your love right here. These blossoms are not just _his_ love. They are yours as well. You're truly determined to kill Kurogane, aren't you? Just like everyone else you've ever cared for."

"STOP PLAYING WITH HIS HEART!" Fai suddenly heard Kurogane scream. He glanced up and saw the swordsman staring down at them. He'd managed to lift his head a little, but the command had clearly taxed him. Now that he was more aware he fought to keep his pain from showing but he couldn't hide the fact that he was struggling for each breath he took.

Ashura jerked his head and the hair rope around his neck instantly tightened, painfully snapping his head back. A small cry escaped his lips as several of the vines moved to his chest to draw blood directly from his heart.

"KURO-CHAN!" Fai cried in panic.

"But playing with his heart is so much fun. Such a fragile thing. So easily broken."

As he watched Kurogane struggle to breathe, a great rage suddenly rose up inside Fai's chest.

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" he screamed, tearing himself away from Ashura and moving easily to his feet, though he couldn't deny the fact that the move caused his head to spin.

Ashura glared up at him as he, too, rose to his feet.

"Fai, beware," he warned as he moved towards the wizard. "I have been generous up until now. I _can_ be cruel."

"Generous?" Fai laughed bitterly. "What have you done that's even remotely generous?"

"_Everything!_" Ashura snapped as he started to pace. "Everything that you wanted, I have done. You _asked_ to be separated from your Kuro-knight. I took him. You've wanted him for the longest time. I provided you the opportunity. I offered you a solution to your curse. I didn't _actually_ make you kill him back in Goblin City. Quite frankly, I'm exhausted from granting your every wish. Is that not generous?"

Fai stared levelly at his tormentor, his gaze an equal mixture of heartache and anger.

"You hurt Kuro-sama.

Ashura shook his head. "I can see I'm not getting through to you. Well…if this is the only way…so be it."

Fai half expected to be launched into battle with the king, but realized his fatal mistake when he shot a bolt of magic over his shoulder. He spun on his heels, turning just in time to see the attack strike Kurogane head on. The bonds that held him up were incinerated and his muscular bulk crashed to the floor.

"NO!" Fai screamed as he raced towards the fallen ninja. The smell of burnt hair and smoldering roses filled his nose as he rolled Kurogane on to his back. Fai was about to feel for a pulse when the swordsman's eyes suddenly snapped open. He easily climbed to his feet, as if he had not just experienced the most intense physical pain anyone had ever known, as if he was not bleeding from a thousand different puncture wounds. Fai knelt there at his feet, fear filling his throat, threatening to suffocate him, as he stared into Kurogane's now black eyes. They were empty of absolutely everything. The mage would have paid his very soul to see something…_anything_ in those eyes. He would have preferred disgust, hatred, the lust from his nightmare…anything but this vast nothingness.

"K- Kuro…tan?"

"Mm, Kurogane, get rid of this nuisance for me, won't you? He's caused me enough aggravation."

"As you wish, my king," he said blankly. Then he raised his hand and a sword appeared there out of thin air…a sword with a silver dragon figurine for a hilt.

"Ginryuu?" Fai whispered, recognizing the warrior's first blade. Before he could say anything more, the man slashed out at him with the sword. Fai leapt back, barely avoiding another painful slash wound.

"Please! Kuro-wan-wan! Stop!" he shouted as he continued to dodge the possessed swordsman's swift attacks. "This isn't you! You only serve one person! Remember? Tomoyo-hime!"

"Don't bother," Ashura chastised him. "Your words cannot reach your ninja where he is. He's mine. His mind belongs to the labyrinth!" he declared triumphantly, sneering wickedly as he watched the one-sided battle. This was it. The killing blow. This was the thing that would shatter their already fragile psyches.

"And in case you were wondering, this is no illusion. If he kills you now, you will really be dead…and it will really destroy him."

"Kuro-myuu, wake up! Remember who you are! You _have_ to remember! Can't you hear me?" Fai continued his pleas, but his cries fell on deaf ears. Kurogane kept up his relentless onslaught. And, unfortunately, it was not so easy to stay balanced in a room filled with hair and thorns. Fai eventually lost his footing on his own blonde tresses, giving the ninja the opening he needed. He brought Ginryuu down hard on Fai's left shoulder. He didn't quite manage to slice clean through, but he pierced bone and muscle and the arm was left hanging by a few sinews, useless. Fai cried out in pain as blood gushed from the fresh wound. He dropped weakly to his knees. The blood loss he'd already suffered had drained his skin of what little color it had.

Kurogane lifted his chin up to look his opponent in the eyes, just as he had in Outo. Only now, instead of a harmless sheath, he was using a naked blade. The vines, still thickly covered with both thorns and roses, quickly twined themselves around him, effectively pinning him in place. He could feel the painful kiss of the thorns as they dug into his flesh and began to drain away more blood. Kurogane could cut his throat whenever it suited him.

"Now, my slave…make it end. Complete the nightmare and slay your one true love!"

"No!" Fai cried out weakly. "No, this can't happen! Kuro-chuu…I solved the labyrinth. You're free now. Are you listening?!"

"It's no use. You can't wake him," Ashura continued to taunt them. "Not even your love can break the spell I've cast."

"Kuro-pon…" he murmured gently.

_He may have your mind…but your heart belongs to me._

Suddenly, Fai ripped his right arm free of the vines, shredding a good deal of skin in the process. Fai didn't see it, but when a cry of pain escaped his lips, Kurogane's eyes briefly flashed red.

"Kurogane," Ashura interrupted, all traces of his sadistic taunting gone. He was suddenly not so certain of his own power. "What are you waiting for? Kill him. Kill him now!"

"As…my master…commands," he said slowly, as if struggling against something. He raised Ginryuu high above his head, ready to deal the killing blow.

"I'm so sorry," Fai cried, fresh tears spilling down his face. "This is all my fault. If I didn't exist, you wouldn't be like this now. But…it doesn't have to end this way. Look, Kuro-woof." As Fai spoke he reached up to his own face and plucked the rose from behind his ear. Against all odds, the fragile bloom had remained safely tucked where Kurogane had first placed it.

"It's the rose you gave me," he said tearfully as he held it out to the warrior. "Don't destroy it."

"Kurogane!" Ashura shouted harshly. "Do it! _DO IT NOW!"_

Fai cringed as the sword began its downward slash, but just as soon as the attack had begun, it was stopped. Kurogane had grabbed his sword arm with his free hand and was holding it back. The sword arm was struggling to finish the attack, but his other hand was struggling just as hard to prevent it.

"I…won't…" he started, fighting his hardest against the spell in order to get the words out.

"Please, remember. It's _our_ rose! Everything we are to each other, everything we've shared."

"F- Fai…I…I…re-"

"KILL HIM!" the Goblin king screamed angrily.

"NO!" Kurogane screamed just as loudly. "I…WON'T…KILL…_FAI_!"

More tears slid down Fai's cheeks as he watched the struggle on his ninja's face. His eyes alternating from black to red to black, and the look changing from the nothing of the spell to determination to break the spell, and finally, to terror that he wouldn't be able to overcome it and that he really would kill the mage.

"Kuro-koi…please," he begged. "I would give up all my magic…if you could just be yourself again. Come back! I love you!"

Kurogane screamed; a jarring, pain-filled sound that caused the hairs on the back of Fai's neck to stand on end…and Ginryuu finally dropped. But the only things to die as a result of this were the vines imprisoning Fai. Kurogane allowed the false Ginryuu to clatter away as he sank to his knees. He collapsed against Fai, loosely placing his hands on his waist. He rested his head against Fai's chest, not allowing him to see the few tears that he couldn't prevent from escaping. He was sick over what he'd almost done.

Shredded as it was, Fai reached up his right arm and wrapped it around Kurogane. "You're back," he whispered joyfully into the swordsman's hair. "I _knew_ you'd come back to me."

"HOW DARE YOU!" Ashura's rage swept through the great hall like a scorching wind. Fai fought to hold onto Kurogane but neither his injuries nor Ashura would allow it. The wave of magic tore the weakened ninja from him and slammed him into the far wall.

"KUROGANE!" Fai screamed as his body crashed to the floor and lay still. The wizard struggled to his feet as Ashura bore down on him.

"How _dare_ you break that spell?! You'll pay!" Having said so, he shot a bolt of lightening at Fai. It struck the mage head on and he collapsed to the floor. Though the blast had weakened him even more, he immediately began to get to his feet again. He'd not even been standing a full second before Ashura hit him with another bolt of magic. Again, he fell. And again, he slowly began to rise.

"Stay down, damn you!" the goblin King raged, striking him once more. "Or would you rather I killed your ninja first?"

"No," Fai rasped as he struggled to rise. The world was spinning violently around him. He'd lost too much blood. But still he persisted in remaining on his feet.

"Whether I live or die makes no great difference," he told the king as he glanced back at Kurogane. He was all right. He was moving. But for some reason, he couldn't seem to stand and he was dragging himself forward across the floor, breathing heavily all the while. "But even if you _do_ manage to kill my body, you can never destroy what we really are."

"And what is that?" Ashura snapped.

Fai smiled ironically to himself. If the Goblin King did not already know the answer to that question then he never would, and the exhausted mage was not about to explain it to him.

"Through dangers untold, and hardships unnumbered," Fai began to chant the words from Tomoyo's story as if he were casting a powerful spell. "I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City…to take back the man that you have stolen-"

"STOP!" Ashura commanded, blasting Fai to the ground with another spell. He knew. Powers be damned, the wizard _knew_!

Slower than every time before, Fai rose to his feet. His breathing was ragged and his eyes were glazed over with exhaustion, but still he rose and continued moving towards the terrified Goblin King.

"For my will is as strong as yours…and my kingdom is as great…"

Ashura's eyes widened in horror. Quickly, he turned to kill the downed ninja, but then…

"You have no power over me," Fai declared, his eyes lighting up as the revelation washed over him.

Ashura shrieked with an inhuman rage as darkness swept into the hall. The living, seething shadows that had once served him, now swept down and devoured the Goblin King whole. Then, almost as fast as the shadows had come, they were gone…Ashura, Goblin King, with them.

XxX

Amaterasu and Souma both jumped about a foot in the air when they heard Tomoyo's scream from the adjacent room. The two rushed into the priestess' little sanctuary.

"What's wrong?!" Souma demanded.

Tomoyo was staring, shocked, at the altar before her. Mokona was perched on her shoulder. She had been praying for Kurogane and Fai's safe return and a flash of vision had broken into her conscience. The little princess turned terrified eyes on her older sister.

"Their time has run out. If they do not return now, they will be lost forever!"

XxX

Once silence had filled the great hall again, Fai collapsed for the last time, coughing up blood as he went.

"Fai!" Kurogane called out weakly as he watched him go down. He pulled himself the last few feet to the fallen man and struggled to his knees, ignoring the pain in his broken ankles. Then, being careful of his injuries, he gently pulled the magician into his arms.

_What have I done to you?!_

"I'm sorry," he whispered into the other man's ear. "I almost…couldn't control it. I might have-"

"It's all right, Kuro-woof. I'm fine."

"You're _not_ fine!" he shouted, placing a hand on the arm that could no longer feel his touch. "How could you say something like that?!"

"Like what?"

"That your death makes no difference? It makes a difference to the kids and the pork bun. It…makes a difference to me."

"It's nice of Kuro-sama to say so, but in the end, no one's death really makes a difference. Everyone dies. And…Kuro-rin…please…know that I was happy to have had you in my life…for however short a time."

"Don't do this!" Kurogane started angrily. "Don't say your goodbyes. Not yet! I_ still_ want you in my life. I want you in my life for many years to come. Please…come home with me, mage. It's not too late. We can leave this place. Everyone's waiting for us."

_I will give you up, Kurogane…but…please, let me have this last moment._

Fai shook his head, a sad smile moving across his face. "Kuro-pii…just forget about me. Let me sleep here forever. But you…you must wake up. You can go home and make sure that Mokona and the kids are all right. You can go on living. Please…just leave me here."

"No," the angered ninja hissed. "Stop trying to play the goddamn tragic hero! I refuse to forget about you, and I'm not leaving here without you, either. We're going home together! If you stay, then I'm staying, too."

"Why?" Fai cried. "Why would you do that?!"

"Because I _love_ you, damn it! I thought you would have understood that by now."

Hot tears slid down Fai's face as he shook his head once more. He'd been dancing this dance with Kurogane ever since they'd first met. He had won hollow victories at first, just barely managing to keep the nosey ninja at bay, but Kurogane had won the war and claimed the prize…his love.

"I _do_. I know. I _know_ that you love me! And I love you. That's why I have to stay here."

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"If we fall in love…it would destroy us. It's my curse. My joy of you would destroy your own joy…somehow."

"That's a load of bull shit and you know it! That fucking curse only works because you let it! If you want it gone, you have to get rid of it yourself!"

"It doesn't work like that, Kuro-chan. I'm doing this to protect you."

"DON'T SAY THAT!" Kurogane yelled at him. But then he was reminded of just how frail the body he held was by a shudder and a barely suppressed cry, and he held the mage closer to his chest. He then continued in a calmer voice. "If you're tired of fighting, if you've had enough, just say so, and I'll let you sleep forever if that's what you want. But don't say that you're staying here in darkness because of me. I can't accept that."

Fai suddenly got a dreamy, far-off look on his face, as if someone had just whispered the secret to eternal life in his ear.

"You know…we could both stay here."

"Eh?"

"We could stay asleep forever. We could live inside this dream and never feel true pain again. We could be whole here. I wouldn't have to drink your life away here."

"No one forced me to become your prey, Fai. It was my choice…because I wanted for you to live." But even as he explained this, Kurogane was pondering Fai's words. They _could_ stay here. It wasn't impossible. He could spend an eternity here, blissfully in love with Fai. Perhaps it would be better for Fai if they stayed asleep forever.

But…could they really do that? Live forever within a coffin made of sweet dreams and leave everything else behind? It was not an existence he would choose for himself, but if it was what Fai wanted, then he would stay by his side.

"Is that…what_ you_ want?" he asked calmly. Azure eyes gazed curiously up at him, wondering what exactly he was meaning to say. "If you want to stay here…then I'll stay with you. You don't have to be alone anymore. Just tell me what you want, Fai."

Fai felt more tears forming in his eyes as Kurogane's own ruby orbs gazed tenderly down into them.

"Kuro-tan would really…stay with me forever?"

XxX

"What happens if they don't wake up?" the black Mokona asked the Dimensional Witch from its place on her shoulder. Yuko sighed in disappointment.

"Then it means that they have chosen to leave reality behind and spend an eternity dreaming only of each other. A painless existence, yes. But not a true one."

XxX

"_He's right, you know." Fai suddenly heard a voice he recognized. "If you truly want to be rid of the curse of misfortune, then you must do it yourself."_

_Fai glanced away from Kurogane…and saw the familiar broken corpse standing before him…the same accusing eyes._

"_Fai," he whispered. "Please…stop torturing me. I'm doing the right thing, aren't I?"_

"_No," the shade insisted, the look on his face the look of a petulant five-year-old. "I wasn't kidding before when I said that you'd failed me."_

"_How have I failed you?" he asked, glancing shamefully away from his twin. _

"_Because you're pretending to live!" Fai said angrily as he knelt before the two men. "You're doing everything except actually __**living**__, Yuui! You're driving me crazy!"_

_Fai vaguely found himself wondering why Kurogane didn't seem to notice any of this._

"_I didn't save your life so you could throw it away! You have a wonderful life you could be living. You have Sakura, and Syaoran, and Mokona…and you have someone who loves you," Fai said sadly as he sat down in his twin's lap. The elder Fai didn't notice it at first, but the spirit seemed to be getting younger. His hair was getting shorter and the grim was slowly vanishing from his body._

_Fai closed his eyes tightly. There was nowhere else for him to look. One direction held Kurogane's strangely gentle face and the other held the upset face of his long-dead brother._

"_Is it even real?" he asked sadly. "We've been…dreaming…for so long. Am I simply dreaming that the deepest desire of my heart is finally mine?"_

"_Oh, it's real," Fai assured him. "That man loves you more than he loves air. You can trust me on that. If Kurogane could breathe for you, he would."_

_Fai suddenly felt the small boy's arms around his neck. He opened his eyes and saw Fai before him as he remembered him…from before the valley._

"_Do you have any idea how few people find love like that? I don't wanna see you throw that away because you thought you didn't deserve it."_

"_But…the curse-"_

"_We're not cursed, Yuui. We never were. Valeria just wanted someone to blame for what couldn't be helped. What is it, really, that makes you so afraid to be with him?"_

"_I don't know. I guess…I… I am afraid of losing him. I don't want to get close to him…only to have him taken away…like everything else."_

"_Please…Yuui, don't be so afraid of losing something that you never try to have it. You might not get hurt…but you won't be loved either."_

_Fai smiled warmly as he returned his brother's hug._

"_It's time to go back. He is waiting for you."_

_X_

_Kurogane was about to answer Fai's question when he happened to glance up…and see two faces that he had not expected to see ever again._

"_Are you angry with me?" he asked his father. "For falling in love with another man?"_

_His father gave him a wry smile. "Of course not, my son. It was certainly not something I expected. But if you love this man…truly…then you have my blessing."_

"_Mine, as well, my child," his mother said, ever the warm smile beside his father._

"_It's going to be difficult from now on, isn't it?" he said, gazing down at Fai, who seemed to be staring off into his own little world._

"_Love is not easy, even if you do go down the…traditional route," his mother said with a giggle._

"_But…I have other obligations, as well. To Tomoyo, to Nihon-"_

"_Be that as it may," his father interrupted him. "You also have an obligation to honor what is in your heart. In life, I had an obligation to Amaterasu and to Suwa. That did not mean I could not honor my love for your mother. Why can you not honor both your commitment to the princess and to the man you love?"_

_Kurogane continued to gaze down at Fai as he listened to his father's words, gently stroking the tendrils of blonde hair that fell across his face. _

"_Maybe you're right."_

'_We're your parents. We're always right. If it's so hard for you to be with him, why don't you make an honest man out of him?"_

_Kurogane's eyes flew wide open at his mother suggestion. "You're…serious?"_

"_Isn't that what people do when they fall in love? Youou…what is this terrible demon in you that keeps you from going to this man and telling him that your heart breaks for him?" she asked, a look of sadness crowding out the warmth._

"_I've already told him that I love him," Kurogane said indignantly, more than a little surprised by the use of his true name. It proved to him just how serious they were._

"_Love? What is love to your Fai?" his father said slowly. "It is a thing that has only ever been taken away from him. He fears to love. If he is ever to know it, then __**you**__ must show it to him."_

_Having said so, his parents moved towards them. They both knelt down and embraced him. The mighty ninja was almost moved to tears as his mother bent down and placed a gentle kiss on Fai's pale forehead._

"_We wish you joy of each other. We wish you every happiness. May you have days filled with sunshine and nights filled with bliss," his mother began. Then his father picked up the chant._

"_And at last, when you come to the end of your road, may you die side by side, so that you will never know the pain of separation."_

_Kurogane felt a tremor travel down his spine as the two stood. Those were some of the traditional words spoken by the parents at a wedding ceremony._

"_It's time to wake up," his father said with an encouraging smile._

"_He is waiting for you."_

"Yes," the swordsman answered softly. "I _will_ stay with you forever. I'll dream with you for eternity…if that's what you want."

"But that's not what _you_ want, is it?" Fai said, reaching up his shredded hand to touch Kurogane's face.

"No," he answered truthfully. "But I want you more. Wherever you choose to go, I will follow you."

Fai's face seemed to lighten, as if a great weight was being lifted from his shoulders at long last. He grinned wryly, the happiness in his face sincere. But even as the joy swept through him, the life drained out of him. Even though everything was coming together at last, Fai knew that he didn't have much time left.

"Thanks for that, Kuro-pipi. But I won't make you stay here. I want things to be real again…no matter how much that might hurt. That's what I want. I want to go back with you," he whispered, his voice growing weaker by the minute. Kurogane had to lean down close to him to hear his next words. "But…Kuro-min, I don't know how."

"Don't know how to what?"

"I don't know how to leave. I don't know how…to wake up," he moaned as his eyes slid shut.

"Oi! Stay with me, mage!" he ordered shakily. "Don't worry. We'll find a way."

"It's…c-cold," he mumbled.

For a moment, Kurogane was confused. It wasn't even remotely cold in the great hall. But suddenly, he remembered his own nightmare and clutched desperately at Fai's body, disregarding his injuries and his pitiful moans.

"Don't you _dare_ talk like that, Fai! I'm taking you out of here…somehow." He would find a way. He refused to believe that he couldn't!

"I'm…sorry…I don't…know how…" his voice drifted off into nothing and he spoke no more. His head fell back against Kurogane's shoulder and the frantic warrior had to strain to hear his breathing.

"Don't go to sleep, damn you! If you give up now, you won't be able to wake up! Can't you hear me?!" He shook him in an attempt to wake him but nothing would rouse the mage.

"Fai…" he whispered, his voice thick with pain. "Just hold on a little longer. I'll get us both out. Don't…leave me."

Kurogane pressed his cheek against Fai's. Both cheeks were wet. The only difference was that Kurogane's cheek was warm…Fai's was not.

"I don't know how," he murmured weakly against Fai's lips, almost as if he was confessing his greatest sin. "I don't know how to wake you up. I don't know how to make the dream end."

_But you do_, a calm, reasonable voice suddenly sounded in his head. _You __**do**__ know how to wake the sleeping prince and make the nightmare end._

Kurogane pulled back from Fai a little ways and gazed down at his unnaturally pale face. He hadn't been aware of just how well he knew the mage's face until this moment as his eyes roved over it. He knew every line, every curve and hollow. Finally, his gaze rested on the mage's lips, and his mind began to drift back…back to a time when he'd been too small to even lift a sword…back to old tales his mother used to tell him in the cradle. Was it really that simple?

The uncertain ninja placed a hand against the back of Fai's head and drew his face up to his. Then, slowly, reverently, he pressed his lips against Fai's in a deep, lingering kiss.

XxX

The first thing that the mage and the ninja saw when they awoke was the crystalline color of the other's eyes, or, in Fai's case, eye.

"We're…back?" Kurogane asked uncertainly, reaching out a hesitant hand to touch Fai's face.

"Was it…just…did…any of that…?" Fai stuttered, clearly confused.

"No, it was real. I was there, too," Kurogane assured him.

Fai sat up and glanced around. It was still night. They were back in Kurogane's room, as if they had never been gone. They had been lying on his futon, facing each other. As his gaze swept the room once more, looking anywhere but right beside him, Fai acutely felt the renewed absence of his left eye. When he finally did glance back down to Kurogane, he could see the thick layer of bandages that covered his stump of a left shoulder. They were well and truly back to where they'd started from.

Fai turned away from Kurogane, turning to look out into the black night. Before long he felt the ninja's remaining hand on his shoulder.

"Fai…look at me."

Fai shook his head.

"Why not?"

"Everything's different now."

"What do you mean?"

"I…I'm not sure. I'll just…I'll go now," Fai said sadly as he rose from the futon. He was terrified to be the first to bring up everything that had just happened between them.

"Hey! Wait!" Kurogane protested, quickly moving to follow the retreating mage. He seized his arm and circled around him to look him in the eye. "Don't go."

"Why not?" Fai asked bitterly.

Kurogane didn't answer him. He simply pulled the bewildered magician into a one-armed embrace and kissed him for all that he was worth.

For a moment, Fai's single blue eye was wide in shock. But before long, he was drawn into the warm, inviting, heat of the kiss. He moaned softly against the swordsman's mouth and Kurogane took the opportunity to slip his tongue into Fai's mouth. He dipped in and out, drinking deeply of the slighter man's lips. The wizard's arms snaked eagerly around his body and Kurogane's own hand traveled upward, tangling in his golden locks, pressing them even closer together. Fai drank just as deeply of him. Already he could feel the familiar passion building between them.

When at last they separated, Kurogane did not relinquish his hold on the mage. Neither did the blonde make any move to disengage from him. He rested his head on the ninja's chest, keeping a tight hold on him. Kurogane let his hand remain where it was as he nestled his chin down on top of Fai's head.

"I…want you to stay," he finally answered.

"I was afraid," Fai murmured against his chest. "I was so afraid…that everything was just a cruel dream."

"Fai," he began, the use of his name telling the wizard that he meant what he said. "Everything I feel…is as real now as it was then."

Fai looked up, the open, vulnerable expression in his eye capturing Kurogane just as surely as if he'd bound him with chains.

"You mean it?"

"Of course I mean it, you idiot," he said softly. "I've always meant it. Back there, in the castle…I was afraid that I'd lost you…and it would have been my fault." His battle-hardened expression did not change, but Fai could hear the self-loathing in his voice. Kurogane was not the type to linger on things, so these small intimacies told the mage just how deeply this had affected him.

"No, Kuro-pon. Don't blame yourself," Fai said, comfortingly massaging his back. "You saved me."

"We saved each other," the warrior corrected. He was not going to take undue credit for the rescuing in this little misadventure.

"We've always saved each other," Fai said as he snuggled back against Kurogane's chest. Kurogane returned the hug just as fiercely, knowing the words to be true. They had been saving each other ever since they had first locked eyes in the bitch's wish shop. Perhaps they had both made another wish there…a wish neither had even been truly aware of having…a wish they had paid for with blood, tears, and heartbreak…a wish that had now been granted.

"And we'll keep saving each other," Kurogane said with a determined smile. "I'll always be here for you if you need me."

"I need you, Kuro-sama," Fai whispered fiercely.

Kurogane moved his hand to Fai's chin and lifted his face so he could look him in the eye, trying to gauge his meaning. The way he said it…confused him.

"I don't know why, but…everyday…just to know that you're sitting in the next room…for no reason at all, I _need_ you. Weren't you the one who said I should come home with you? I want to live in the country your ancestors built. I want to live in the place where _you_ live. You asked me what I wanted. I want to be with you…always!" The words came spilling out of his mouth faster than he could control. For a split second, fear clouded his eye at everything he'd just confessed. But then he felt the other man's lips press against his ear.

"It's all right," he said soothingly, all the while marveling at how this man could simultaneously bring out the best and the worst in him. "I feel the same. I want to be with you always…if you'll let me. I hate thinking that I won't have you forever."

Relief blossomed on Fai's face like the sweetest flower. His shoulders shook as he attempted to hold back his tears. He'd been crying far too much lately, even if it was for joy this time. He supposed it came from holding everything back for so many years.

Kurogane easily kissed the stray tears away as he covered Fai's face with kisses, eventually moving back to his trembling lips.

"I love you," he moaned against his mouth, wondering, not for the first time, how it had happened. Easily keeping the wizard off balance with his bruising kisses, he moved the two of them back towards his futon. The fall onto the sheets happened so naturally that the ninja wasn't quite sure if he or Fai had initiated it. The kissing continued but a few moments later, Fai interrupted it by placing a firm hand against Kurogane's chest.

"Wait- Kuro-rin…we can't- be doing this right now."

"Why not?" he asked, disappointed.

"You're hurt."

Kurogane brushed the magician's concern aside. "I can handle it. Besides…so much is happening right now. Who knows when we'll get another chance?"

Fai didn't need any more persuasion than that. He moaned softly as Kurogane helped him remove his unfamiliar Nihon clothing. As the soft fabric slid from his body, Kurogane kissed as much of his ivory white skin as he could reach. Fai reached up and clumsily started to remove Kurogane's clothing without much success. The warrior sighed, smirking down at Fai as he sat up and began to guide the mage's inexperienced hands with his one hand.

"You don't…have anything…do you?" Fai asked hopefully as he worked. Kurogane was about to tell him that he didn't when he noticed something that he hadn't before, something sitting beside his futon. It was a small red bottle sitting on a piece of paper. The confused ninja raised his hand, gesturing for Fai to wait a moment as he climbed off of him. Fai whined pitifully at the loss of contact.

Kurogane moved the bottle and picked up the sheet of paper. It was a note.

_Dear Kurogane,_

_I imagine you'll be very angry with me when you figure out exactly what this letter means, but that isn't particularly important right now. I'm very happy to see that you and Fai are back alive. Let me be the first to offer my congratulations. I just wanted to address something that I figured might be an issue with you. While it is true that you've sworn your service to me, the vow that you made has no real claim on your heart. Know that you are free to give your heart to whomever you deem worthy. If you wish, I even give you permission to grant your love the gift of your true name. All I want is for you to be happy, and I don't want the vow you made to me to stand in the way of that._

_Tomoyo_

_P.S. Enjoy the little present from Mokona and I._

Kurogane growled as he set the letter down and picked up the bottle.

"What is it, Kuro-daddy?" Fai asked, still lying where Kurogane had left him.

"Nothing. Just making a mental note to kill Tomoyo," he answered as he popped the glass stopper out of the bottle. The scent of roses filled his nose. He was having trouble deciding whether to feel angry or grateful. Angry at Tomoyo and the witch's obvious hand in their adventure in the labyrinth; grateful because his princess had just released him from his last inhibition towards being with Fai. Some masters refused to let their servants divide their loyalty even a little bit. But he should have known that Tomoyo wouldn't be like that. He wasn't quite certain if he was ready to give Fai his true name yet. He knew that he would someday…just not now.

"Kuro-chii…are you all right?" Fai asked nervously. He must have been lost in thought longer than he'd realized. He shook his head as he shrugged out of the remainder of his clothing. Then he showed the bottle of rose-scented oil to his lover.

"Apparently I _do_ have something. A present from Tomoyo and the pork bun." He shuddered as he said it. Normally he would be loath to accept anything that was even partially from the manjuu, but the oil was a bit of a necessity right now.

"Ooh," Fai started with a wolfish growl. "Was Mokona thinking dirty?"

"Who cares?" he said, setting the bottle back down until it was needed. Then he tackled Fai with renewed ardor. For a moment, Fai allowed the ninja to ravish him with his lips. However, almost before Kurogane realized what was happening, Fai had seized him and flipped him so that _he_ was on top.

"Hey! Wha-" he started to protest, but Fai quickly placed a finger to his lips.

"Kuro-puppy should let Fai-mommy be on top this time," Fai teased him as he moved slowly down his body. "He _is_ hurt, after all. And now…it's my turn."

It took all of Kurogane's will power not to release on the spot as he watched the blonde engulf him. He threw his head back and squeezed his eyes shut, trying his hardest not to moan too loudly as the moist heat that was Fai's mouth worked at him.

But almost as soon as the teasing pleasure had begun, it was over, and Fai was moving back up into his line of sight.

"No…fair!" he groaned, on the verge of tears as the wizard crawled back up his body and settled his warm weight on top of him. A teasing smirk graced his face as he traced the fingers of his right hand up and down his chest.

Kurogane was more than a little pissed at all the teasing, so he decided to pay his kitty back for it. He plunged down between them and seized Fai's throbbing need in his hand, working at it with nimble fingers.

Fai bent over double at the sensation, practically melting into Kurogane. He clutched desperately at the sheets beneath the swordsman, panting with desire.

"I want you," Kurogane whispered in his ear. Fai was tempted to giggle at that. That particular desire was no great secret. But what would have been a giggle was turned into a gasp as the man gave him one last swift jerk before reaching for the open bottle of oil. He would have applied it himself, but Fai immediately realized the problem and took the bottle himself, slathering a generous amount on his lover's fingers.

"Rose oil?" he commented softly as Kurogane reached beneath him to test his readiness. He tried to suppress his groans as the ninja began his first gentle explorations.

"Yeah," he moaned just as softly as he moved his fingers in and out of the other man, preparing him. Suddenly, he stiffened when he felt Fai's hands on him again. The mage was already starting to coat him with more oil.

"Heh, someone's eager," he teased, reaching up and stealing another kiss from the magician.

"Mmph…Kuro-mmm…" Whatever nickname he'd been about to use was cut off by his loud moaning. Grinning impishly at the effect he was having on the blonde, Kurogane finally pulled his hand away from him and Fai moved into position over him.

For a split second before they made that final plunge, they gazed deeply into each other's eyes. They both knew that once they did this, there was no going back…but in the same instant, they both realized that they did not _want_ to go back. Whatever future they had beyond this moment, they wanted to make it together. Fai leaned forward and gave Kurogane one more kiss before settling himself down upon the ninja's aching hardness.

A long hiss escaped the smaller man's mouth as his warrior slowly entered into him. At first it was painful, but before long, he grew to enjoy the feel of him and began to move up and down the hard length of him.

"Oh…Kuro-wan-wan's so…big," he moaned, throwing his head back in pleasure as Kurogane hit his sweet spot. The swordsman would occasionally try and thrust up to meet him, but it was difficult to get the proper vantage point with just one arm, so he lay back and allowed Fai to slam down upon him. Instead he used his hand to pleasure the mage as he thrust above him.

"Mm…Fai…mage…Fai…_Oh gods, Fai!_" He groaned over and over again as the tight walls of the wizard's body drew him ever closer to his climax.

"KURO-SAMA!" Fai screamed as the swordsman brought him to ecstasy, thoroughly coating him in his seed. Kurogane was only seconds behind him, his own release drawn from him by Fai's body involuntarily tightening around him. "FAI!" he cried out, releasing his own hot passion between the mage's legs.

Fai lifted himself off of Kurogane and collapsed beside him, basking in the warm afterglow of their lovemaking. It had been every bit as good as the dream. It had been better. It was real. Kurogane turned onto his side and brought his face very close to Fai's.

"That was wonderful, Kuro-chan," he whispered happily.

Kurogane did not speak. For a moment, he just lay there, burning the image of his lover, disheveled and glowing with pleasure, into his mind. _This_ was how he wanted to remember his mage. Not the ten million false grins that had come before; like _this_, right _now_. If he died tomorrow, that would be all right. He had this memory to carry into the grave.

"Fai…if I were to promise you something right now, would you be lucid enough to understand it?" he asked uncertainly.

Fai opened his eye, tilting his head to one side in slight confusion.

"Yes. What is it?"

"More than life…more than honor…I love you. I offer you myself."

Fai drank in that pledge like water. He knew he would have to carry it with him for a long time before he heard the words again. It was Kurogane. He would not always be able to say them aloud. These were words that were just for each other, when they were alone. This life they chose to make together, it would be full of hardship. They would not always be able to openly express their love as they wanted. They would not always _want_ to. But in this moment, before time started to move forward again, they could at least acknowledge that it was there…that it would always be there.

"Kuro-koi, more than life…more than any magic the worlds could show me…I love_ you_. I give you everything," he said solemnly, sealing their vow with a long, loving kiss.

As Kurogane drew him close with his one arm, Fai was reminded of another promise he'd made. One he hadn't told Kurogane about. The fact that he'd sold away the last of his magic in order to get him a new arm. There was much he hadn't yet told his big puppy. Things like…Sakura…the_ real_ Sakura. It was not the best way to begin a relationship, but he also knew that all of these things would come to light eventually. For now…he had Kurogane, and he would be able to wake up beside him until the day when he did not wake from his sleep.

That would be enough.

"Kuro-tan?"

"Hn?" Kurogane mumbled sleepily. His thoughts were a jumbled mess of how Tomoyo would never let him live down the mess they'd made…and Fai.

"Good night."

XxX

(A/N) Well, I hope everyone enjoyed it. I apologize for any OOCness in this chapter, but I just had to indulge my penchant for their relationship, seeing as how it's been so woefully lacking in recent chapters. Also, in regards to the whole wedding ceremony thing, I actually have no idea how ancient Japanese weddings were conducted, so that was just some creative license on my part. This is also probably the longest chapter I've ever written for anything. There just wasn't a good place to split it in two. Hope it's not too presumptuous of me to ask, but what did everyone like best about the story? A favorite scene perhaps, or something to improve on? I just want to know what to focus on in the next story.

Speaking of the next story, I've got plenty of new crossover/AU ideas. Chief among them are Sleeping Beauty, Little Mermaid, Anastasia (odd, isn't it?), Phantom of the Opera, and Romeo and Juliet. I'll do all of them eventually, but will most likely do the sleeping beauty story first unless someone can come up with a terribly compelling reason for me not to. I've got so many wonderful ideas for it, including a certain trio from xxxholic playing the three good fairies. So yes, keep your eye out for that, cuz it's gonna be a bundle of fun. If anyone has any other ideas, don't hesitate to let me know. I love ideas.


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